- BYD’s sales continue to grow at a quick rate in Europe
- Mercedes-Benz helped establish Denza, and now it is expanding
- Denza Z9 GT could take on Porsche, BMW and more
For the past four years, BYD has steadily increased sales outside China, namely in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. But in recent months, these numbers have ramped up at an impressive speed.
Now the company says it is so secure on European buyers that switch to Electric that it is set to introduce its premium brand, Denza, in markets more typically dominated by Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and BMW.
During a glittering reveal in Milan’s design voucher, BYD’s special adviser to Europe, Alfredo Altavilla, said Denza would act as the “technological precursor to the group”, according to Pakinomist.
This means that its range-topping Allelectric Z9 GT Sport Wagon could well be on its way to European widths, complete with 1,000 hp on the tap, five interior screens, double refrigerators and in some variants the ability to ‘crab go’ (drive diagonally) and perform tank rotation on site.
BYD revealed this week that it has sold more cars in the UK alone in the first quarter of 2025 than it did in 2024, which quickly became Britain’s fastest growing car brand.
Similarly, its European sales are set to double this year.
Globally, the company sold over 4.2 million vehicles last year and became the first true competitor to take on Tesla. It also darkened Musk’s sales in the last quarter of 2024 with approx. 100,000 units.
To rub salt in the wounds, it also revealed its 1MW charging network, which can add 249 miles of range to its EVs in just five minutes -blowing Teslas V3 -Superchargers out of the water.
Denza, once a 50:50 joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, but is now fully owned by bids, accounted for only 3% of the group’s total sales in China. However, as it is targeted at a more confusing consumer, it has the potential to get a fresh income stream for the company.
According to Pakinomist, Marque has not revealed his commercial strategy for Europe, but says the first Denza model will be more expensive than the current range BYD model, which is 72,000 euros (or $ 78,790/AU $ 130,596).
The set-up could also include D9-Minivan, several SUVs and off-road vehicles.
The luxury market is a hard distress to crack
BYD’s recent success has first
Buyers in this market typically deal with a budget in mind rather than prove particularly brand loyal. It is a feeling recently repeated by Dacia’s CEO, Denis Le Vot, who has noticed that his value has attracted buyers from more established brands in recent years.
The premium end of the market is very different as these customers tend to have an established brand name for their hard -earned money.
Just look at South Korea’s Genesis, for example. The Premium Badget from the Hyundai Motor Group is popular in its domestic market (and USA) and even got a million global sales by 2023, but it sold only 1,210 cars in the UK in 2024 – a market share of only 0.06%.
Compare this to BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, all of which enjoy a 5% or 6% share of the same market and sold more than 100,000 cars last year.
Of course, their model area is wider and covers a number of price points. Still, it is not easy to be a niche Premium EV brand. French Marque DS, a subsidiary of Citroen, also sold a similar diminishing 1,152 cars in the UK in 2024.
While BYD is experiencing astronomical sales success outside China, its premium brand, Denza, may have a slightly more difficult time finding an audience.
