Denza's next mass-produced midsize luxury five-seat SUV is closely related to this concept, an executive said.
(Image credit: Denza)
Denza, a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, will soon unveil a new all-electric SUV concept, following the launch of the D9 MPV earlier this month.
"Our brand will launch a world-class SUV concept this year, which was planned to be announced at the Beijing auto show, and we are now considering whether to unveil it earlier in the near future," Zhao Changjiang, general manager of Denza's sales division, said on Weibo today.
Zhao said he was impressed when he first saw images of the concept, and that Denza's next mass-produced midsize luxury big five-seat SUV is closely related to it.
He did not reveal any more information, but in response to a user question, said the SUV concept will be based on Denza's latest electric and intelligent platform.
This year's Beijing auto show was scheduled to open on April 21, but due to the Covid outbreak, the event, one of the most anticipated in the auto industry, has been postponed and a new date has yet to be set.
In early April, Zhao said Denza will unveil three models this year: an MPV, a medium-to-large SUV, and a midsize SUV.
He did not reveal more information at the time, but that MPV was the D9, which officially launched earlier this month.
On May 16, Denza officially announced the launch of the D9 and opened it for pre-sale with a starting price of RMB 335,000 ($49,450).
The model appears to have received a good initial reception, with Denza announcing a few hours after the launch that the D9 MPV received more than 3,000 orders within 30 minutes of the start of the pre-sale.
Like the power form used by existing BYD models, Denza offers two power options for the D9 MPV - a version with BYD's signature DM-i Super Hybrid technology, and an all-electric version.
Information on Denza's website shows that it currently has only one model on sale, the Denza X, offering both a plug-in hybrid and an all-electric version.
The brand has clearly stepped up its efforts to launch new products this year, as BYD is set to gain greater control of it.
Denza is a joint venture formed in February 2011 by BYD and Daimler, with each holding a 50 percent stake, the first Sino-foreign joint venture in China to focus on new energy vehicles (NEVs). In February 2022, Daimler AG was rebranded as Mercedes-Benz Group.
In an announcement at the end of January 24 this year, BYD said it and Daimler would increase their capital in Denza by RMB 1 billion each in monetary terms, and that the capital increase would not change the current shareholding ratio between the two.
In a separate announcement on January 24, BYD said it signed an equity transfer agreement with Daimler for Denza, which will increase BYD's stake in the company to 90 percent and reduce Daimler's stake to 10 percent.
The move, which will be subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by mid-2022.
