BYD’s Denza has rivals worried
Like the jaws of a vice, Chinese giant BYD is preparing to clamp down on either side of the Australian car market and that’s a good thing for buyers.
Like the jaws of a vice, Chinese giant BYD is preparing to clamp either side of the Australian car market.
On one side is the BYD Atto 1, an electric $25,000 hatchback that will be nation’s cheapest EV – and one of the cheapest cars on sale.
The other side is BYD’s new Denza luxury brand, launching imminently with a pair of premium four-wheel-drives.
MORE: Sad origin of ‘big ute’ revolution
The new metal will squeeze established rivals and their luxury brands – Toyota and Lexus, Volkswagen and Audi, Hyundai and Genesis – applying new pressure to car companies already feeling the pinch.
The Denza duo has rivals worried.
MORE: Speed icon does the unthinkable
Set to be priced from about $80,000, the Denza B5 is a five-seat premium SUV with similar hardware to BYD’s Shark 6 ute.
That means it has a 1.5-litre petrol engine augmented by a pair of electric motors and a 31.8kWh battery, a plug-in hybrid arrangement that produces remarkable power.
MORE: Real risk as Chinese cars parked at air base
How remarkable?
Try 425kW and 760Nm, the sort of grunt BMW or Mercedes might reserve for high-performance “M” or “AMG” models that cost about $200,000.
Consider for a moment that BYD currently makes the world’s fastest car – the Yangwang U9 sold exclusively in China – and sells it for a fraction of what Ferrari charges for less grunt.
That’s the sort of playbook Denza intends to follow.
Luxury features include premium hi-fi, heated and cooled seats, a panoramic sunroof and sophisticated digital displays for the driver’s instruments and central infotainment screen.
BYD says the Denza B5 can tow up to 3000kg, and take on interesting territory thanks to a clever all-wheel-drive system with electronically locking differentials.
The car is available with air suspension that can raise or lower its height to suit varying terrain. There are more than a dozen driving modes, including a couple that might raise a chuckle from Aussie customers.
The “rage mode”, “creep mode” and “tugging mode” of our pre-production test car might be renamed by the time models reach showrooms.
We tried the car out on a four-wheel-drive course at the former Holden proving ground in Victoria’s Lang Lang, where it had no problem traversing rocky territory, scrambling up sleep slopes, crossing a creek or descending hills.
But we weren’t able to drive the car on regular roads, so it’s too soon to offer any kind of definitive review.
The same goes for the larger Denza B8.
Likely to be priced close to Toyota’s LandCruiser 300 Series while offering a taste of the power and luxury claimed by big-dollar European contenders sold by Range Rover or Mercedes, it’s a car that threatens to shake up the large four-wheel-drive market next year.
Powered by a larger 2.0-litre turbo petrol motor and hybrid system that produces 450kW and 760Nm, it offers V8-rivalling acceleration while using a fraction of the fuel.
A 91.5 litre fuel tank lends more than 900 kilometres of range.
Spacious and well-appointed, the Denza B8 does not feel like a discount option – particularly for the sort of $120,000 price tag we expect the car to cost.
In the same way that the BYD Shark 6 Ute delivers acceleration to rival Ford’s Ranger Raptor for near enough to half the price, the luxury and tech wrought by Denza will have some customers thinking twice about whether they need to drop $250,000 or more to get hold of a premium SUV.
Again, a limited test-drive left little indication of how BYD’s biggest car will perform on the highway, in the city, or on rollicking country roads.
But it made short work of a four-wheel-drive course that could leave pretenders scrambling.
The tougher question for the brand surrounds whether Australians are ready to accept a new brand as a genuine luxury rival.
While Lexus has done a decent job capturing market share, Hyundai’s Genesis has struggled – and Nissan’s Infiniti gave up altogether.
More Coverage
Denza chief operating officer Mark Harland reckons there are two key elements to the new brand’s success – the product, and customer service.
Believing that Aussies will weigh up the price, performance and features of the Denza duo to give it a fair go, Harland believes BYD’s luxury arm can offer a better customer experience than that of established rivals – without giving specific details.
That’s the sort of pincer movement Denza needs to apply to rivals for long term success – sell better cars at a lower price than rivals manage, and give customers no excuse to say no.
China giant’s ‘cheap’ promise to Aus drivers
‘Just shocking’: Drivers told to check cars now
