BYD General Manager for the Asia Pacific region, Liu Xueliang, has confirmed that Denza will be the next BYD brand to enter the rapidly diversifying Australian electric car market.
The move was confirmed to Inside China Auto during an Australian media roundtable at BYD’s headquarters in Shenzhen last week, raising the possibility that it will also be the next BYD brand launched in other developed markets such as Europe.
Mr Liu was tight-lipped on adding further details, but Inside China Auto can exclusively reveal that the potential line-up might also include the Fangchengbao Bao 5 branded as a Denza B5. This is a speculative suggestion based on the fact that a Bao 5 provided for off-road testing was plated as a Denza B5 (see image below).
It is of course possible that the hybrid SUV was labelled as such to make things easier to pronounce for the Australian media on the tour, particularly given the vehicle itself still wore Fangchengbao badges and a Bao 5 badge on the back, but the inclusion did raise some eyebrows.
Another factor going against the suggestion is Denza’s stated plan for models to be named after the letters in the brand, such as D9, N7, and Z9, but it’s not unheard of for BYD to shuffle around names for different markets to make them fit. Given Denza is a made up name, and both Fangchengbao and Bao are Chinese names, it’s entirely possible they’ll be rebranded to make localisation easier.
The announcement came just a day or two after it was confirmed that BYD had bought Mercedes-Benz out of their final 10% stake in Denza, suggesting there may have been some resistance from the German giant to Denza potentially treading on their toes, resistance BYD decisively quashed by taking the entire Denza brand back in-house.
All this means that Denza will likely take, at the bare minimum, their N7 SUV and the recently-launched Z9 GT and Z9 Sedan to international markets in 2025, with the potential addition of the 677hp Fangchengbao on top.
In other news, we can also provide some first-hand design details of the upcoming Yangwang U6 SUV is set to join the U9 supercar, U8 SUV, and U7 saloon in the luxury brand’s range. The model was spotted camouflaged within BYD’s crash test facility sporting the headlights of the U9 supercar and a tail-end reminiscent of the Denza N7 in profile, again with the lights from the U9 supercar, and an interior similar in design to the U8 but less rugged. We’d describe it as a mid-to-large SUV similar in size to a Mercedes-Benz GLE.
Unfortunately pictures were not allowed, so you’ll have to use your imagination until the real thing is revealed, possibly at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November.
