BYD unveils upgraded flagship Denza SUV to bolster premium market push

Guangzhou, May 18 (Reuters) - BYD connected Monday launched an upgraded mentation of its flagship SUV nether the Denza marque astatine a 5% higher starting terms ‌as China's largest electrical conveyance shaper shifts distant from its low-cost representation ‌and enhances profitability.

Li Hui, wide manager of the Denza brand, said during an lawsuit attended by car owners ​and societal media influencers successful Guangzhou that the revamped exemplary offers implicit 100 upgrades, including extended artillery scope and a fast-charging capableness that BYD had antecedently described arsenic mounting "an manufacture benchmark."

The caller mentation of the Denza N9 plug-in hybrid SUV volition commencement astatine 409,800 yuan ($60,265), ‌up from the 389,900-yuan basal ⁠price of its predecessor launched 14 months ago.

Including Denza, "China's caller vigor luxury brands person firmly positioned themselves astatine the halfway of the planetary ⁠luxury market," Li said, adding that 70% of Denza D9 buyers were erstwhile owners of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, oregon Audi vehicles successful China.

Chinese automakers are gaining marketplace stock successful the premium ​segment of ​the world's largest car market, driven by exertion ​advancements that affluent Chinese consumers progressively ‌favor implicit German-engineered alternatives.

Originally a 50-50 associated task betwixt BYD and Mercedes-Benz, BYD gained afloat ownership of the Denza marque aft Mercedes-Benz gradually scaled backmost and exited the concern successful 2024 erstwhile the brand's income were mostly boosted by the D9 multipurpose conveyance (MPV), a rival to Toyota's Alphard.

The MPV remains Denza's best-selling exemplary and accounted for 45% ‌of its full retail income successful China successful April, ​according to information from DCar, an accusation and ​trading platform.

However, contention from homegrown brands ​such arsenic Zeekr and Voyah has weighed connected sales, with DCar ‌data showing Denza's retail income successful China ​slumped by 41.5% successful ​the archetypal 4 months compared to the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier.

BYD is betting connected Denza to turn its high-margin export strategy. The automaker introduced the ​Denza marque successful Europe with ‌a high-profile lawsuit astatine Paris' Palais Garnier successful April and enlisted British histrion ​Daniel Craig to beforehand the brand.

($1 = 6.8000 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Zhang ​Yan, Jumin Park; Editing by Aurora Ellis)