Denza, the new Chinese brand that wants to compete with Porsche with 1,000 hp electric vehicles.

The Chinese group BYD is no stranger to success: founded just 22 years ago, the Chinese giant is now the world's sixth-largest car manufacturer by volume and aims to continue expanding into segments previously off-limits to the group, such as luxury and high-performance vehicles. While at the beginning of the 21st century, Toyota created Lexus, Honda created Acura, and Nissan did the same with Inifiti, all with the aim of conquering the aspirational and high-performance vehicle segment, it's now the Chinese who want to replicate this strategy in their business model.

Denza was born in 2010 as a result of a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, then interested in entering the Asian giant alongside a local manufacturer. Between 2021 and 2024, the German manufacturer progressively reduced its stake in the brand, to the point of abandoning it and leaving it entirely under BYD's control. The Chinese have invested heavily in this new brand, equipping it with a structural platform compatible with electric and plug-in hybrid engines, specific steering and suspension setup, a top-quality infotainment system, and very high perceived quality. Added to all this is the fact that the Denza's head of design and product is Wolfgang Egger, a German who made his career at Seat (designing the Ibiza, Córdoba, and Altea between 1998 and 2002) and managed Audi and Lamborghini before accepting a multi-million-dollar offer to make the jump to the recently launched BYD high-performance Denza.

Denza's letter of introduction in Europe has been the Z9GT, a beautiful shooting brake 5.1 meters long and over 2 meters wide that aims to compete with the Porsche Taycan and the BMW M5. This sports car will be available in a fully electric version with three independent motors (a 313 hp engine located on the front axle and two 326 hp engines on each rear wheel) to reach an estimated combined total power of 964 hp and a range of more than 550 kilometers thanks to its 10-cell batteries.

The Z9GT will also be available in a plug-in hybrid version that maintains the system of two independent electric motors on the rear axle but adds a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline combustion engine under the hood that sends its power to the front wheels, maintaining the electric propulsion structure within the turning radius of this car that is more than five meters long and weighs 2,800 kilos. The Denza Z9GT also features truly luxurious finishes and a 17.3-inch central touch screen, and has truly luxurious elements such as two refrigerators in the cabin to keep drinks cool, a sound system with 20 speakers, and ergonomic seats that adjust to the movements.

The Denza will also market a second model during this European market launch phase: an aspirational seven-seat minivan. Both models the Denza plans to market in Europe are manufactured at BYD's plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in southern China. With this European launch, BYD aims to ensure the Denza continues to consolidate its spectacular growth of the last ten years, when the brand has grown from just over 2,800 units sold in 2015 to more than 126,000 last year.