Reviving DENZA: a Brand New Start!
Author: CH_Chen
You may not know it, but DENZA has been established for 12 years now. 12 years ago, the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz, and “the leader of new energy cars”, BYD, joined hands to set up the nation’s first new energy automobile joint venture – DENZA. The brand name signifies “soar and start”, riding on the trend of new energy cars taking off.
However, in the past 12 years, DENZA has not gained much traction, with only two car models launched, one in 2012 and another in 2019, both performing averagely and not making much of an impact. With the current global trend of new energy cars, DENZA has not been able to “soar” as planned.
However, these circumstances may change with the arrival of a brand new car model.
BYD takes the lead in DENZA brand
DENZA has had very low visibility in the market for many years. Just looking at the frequency of its product releases, it does not seem like an independently-operated brand. But, it’s hard to say whether it should be classified as a subsidiary brand of Mercedes-Benz or BYD.
Like with DENZA’s second car model, DENZA X, it was designed by Mercedes-Benz, and has several “Styled by Mercedes-Benz” labels on the car body, showcasing its prestigious identity. It is even sold at Mercedes-Benz’s 4S stores and provided to the media to test drive during Mercedes-Benz’s electric car promotions. However, its interior is a replica of BYD’s Tang.
After 12 years of going around in circles, DENZA finally defined BYD’s dominant role last year, paving the way for a new chapter in its history.
From now on, BYD will be in charge of DENZA’s strategic planning, especially in technology research, development, and product planning. BYD will provide comprehensive and robust support to DENZA, which is undoubtedly the best result for DENZA, as compared to Mercedes-Benz, BYD is more eager for DENZA to grow stronger.
Bidding farewell to an embarrassing situation where it is neither loved by its father nor mother, DENZA, as if regaining a new life, is re-established by BYD to have “three independent attributes and three core competitiveness”, comprising of an independent brand, independent team operations, independent product matrices and design languages, advanced new energy and safety technologies, superior smart luxury product quality, and leading user ecosystem services.
DENZA, which has entered a new stage of development, will still adhere to the luxury route and stick to the strategic positioning of “only provide luxury new energy vehicles”. Next, DENZA will enter a period of centralized investment, with three models being launched within a year and multiple models being launched in the following three years. In the future, it will form five major model series, D, E, N, Z, and A, covering MPV, SUV, sedan, and urban sports cars.
And the first shot of the new brand was the DENZA D9, a large and medium-sized electric MPV.
RMB 330,000 starting price, expensive?
As a product that undertakes such an important historical mission, the DENZA D9 is undoubtedly a BYD’s all-out effort product. It is no exaggeration to say that BYD wants to fill the entire DENZA D9 with “selling points”.
If we want to summarize it simply, I think the core competitiveness of DENZA D9 lies in three words:
“Big”, “Luxury”, and “Efficient”.
Big refers to the large size of the vehicle body. The overall size of the vehicle is 52501960192060(mm), with a wheelbase of 3110mm, which is larger than that of the Buick GL8 and the Toyota Alphard.
With such a large size as a guarantee, there is no need to worry about the space for passengers and cargo in the car. The official claim is that while 7 1.8-meter tall men are sitting in the car, the trunk can still hold 7 20-inch suitcases.
Luxury refers to the luxury configuration. The commonly seen double-sided electric sliding doors, second-row electrically adjustable airline seats (with electric leg supports), and second-row seat ventilation and heating massage must be standard across the board. In addition, the car is also equipped with the DENZA Link super-intelligent interactive cabin, with the entry-level version already having a multifunctional LCD screen on the armrest of the second-row seat. High-end models increase two 12.8-inch multimedia headrest screens in the second row, which can achieve seven-screen interconnection in the car.
In addition, DENZA D9 is also equipped with FSD variable damping suspension, Denon audio, front windshield + four-door window double-layer sound insulation glass, 128-color ambient light, car refrigerator, L2 level assisted driving, 5G network, four-tone continuous dialogue, visible and speakable, external discharge, and many other functional configurations. The standard configuration is so numerous that the entry-level is already high-end, it’s really true.
“Savings” refers to saving money and worries. Based on BYD’s e-platform 3.0, the DENZA D9 not only provides pure electric models, but also offers DM-i plug-in hybrid models with optional fuel and electricity. The entire series is exempt from purchase tax and is equipped with blade batteries. The first owner of the vehicle provides lifetime quality assurance for all three electric components.
Moreover, BYD’s well-known DM-i hybrid technology brings good fuel economy to this large-sized MPV. The official electricity-oil consumption per 100 kilometers is as low as 5.9L, with a NEDC comprehensive range of about 1000km. The high-end model is equipped with 80kW DC fast charging, and the official 30%-80% charging time only requires 25 minutes.
At last night’s press conference, the presale price of the DENZA D9 has been announced. The presale price of the DM-i plug-in hybrid model is 3.35-4.45 million yuan, and the presale price of the EV pure electric model is 3.9-4.6 million yuan. In addition, there is a limited edition of 99 customized models with a presale price of up to 660,000 yuan.
Looking at the price alone, the DENZA D9 is indeed not cheap. A Chinese brand MPV model dares to sell for three to four hundred thousand yuan and still has a following. A month ago, before it and the Voyah Dream were released, it was unprecedented. But compared with the mainstream MPVs in the market at this price point, the DENZA D9 does have very high cost-effectiveness and competitiveness.
The price of the entry-level version of the DENZA D9 is only equivalent to the mid-to-low-end model of the Buick GL8 Landzun or the high-end model of the Honda Odyssey and Elysion. However, in terms of size, space, configuration, luxury, and intelligence, the DENZA D9 has outstanding advantages in many aspects.
And in the power matching part, which has been the weakest part of Chinese brands in the past, with the addition of electric drive, the DENZA D9 no longer needs to face the problem of matching the engine and gearbox, and has a more flexible power layout, which can provide electric four-wheel drive models. Compared with most pure gasoline MPVs on the market, the power performance of the DENZA D9 is unlikely to be inferior.
In terms of car selection of DENZA D9, the DM-i 1040 luxury model with a pre-sale price of 375,000 yuan is the most recommended, except that it lacks four-wheel drive and middle row headrest screens, it has all the necessary configurations. Whether it is for business reception or a family car for the second child, it can cope with it.
If the daily driving range is small and there is convenient charging conditions, you can also choose the EV 600+ luxury model with a pre-sale price of 390,000 yuan, CLTC pure electric endurance of 600km+, enough to meet more than 90% of people’s travel needs. It is 1.5 yuan more expensive than the DM-i with the same configuration, but in exchange for lower usage costs and easier maintenance, it also sacrifices some efficiency of energy supplementation and long-distance endurance.
If you pursue extreme cost-effectiveness, the most basic DM-i 945 luxury model is definitely the first choice. Although the pure electric endurance is only 50 km, does not support fast charging, and lacks comfortable configurations such as front seat ventilation and heating, PM2.5 purifiers, the luxury model is 40,000 yuan cheaper than the luxury model. There is almost no difference in appearance and interior, and the three major core competencies of “large”, “luxury”, and “savings” have not been significantly weakened, and the cost-effectiveness is the most outstanding.
Brand reconstruction is a long way to go
In addition to the product level, the new DENZA brand will also reorganize the sales channel and user service system, and strive to establish a new user ecology centered on users.
On the one hand, DENZA will establish an online + offline channel model, realize transparent price, checkable progress, and visible orders; on the other hand, this year, DENZA will complete the layout of 200 offline stores, covering 68 cities nationwide. The offline stores will include DENZA experience stores, DENZA centers, DENZA MINI centers, and other models.
At the same time, DENZA will also launch the DENZA Star Yuan Plan and DENZA Life Mall online, and establish a user public welfare committee with the concept of “building a better blue home together”, similar to NIO’s NIO value, NIO Life Mall, and user trust councils.
It is not difficult to see that DENZA’s brand renewal has been a long time coming, but to be honest, it came a bit too late.Looking at the current situation, the domestic automobile market is no longer lacking in independent high-end brands, but in terms of brand recognition, sales, and service channels, NIO obviously does not have the advantage. These gaps cannot be bridged in a short time, and a well-planned sales and service model cannot be learned by imitating others. The road to rebuilding the brand is arduous and long. NIO still needs to make up for the homework left behind over the years.
After NIO brand, BYD’s new high-end brand that has not yet been released is already eager to move. Although BYD has a large family business, sufficient technical and talent reserves, how to handle the relationship between two high-end brands, form sufficient differentiation without increasing internal friction or weakening competitiveness, is still a huge problem.
In the past, BYD did not provide satisfactory answers when dealing with the issue of differentiation between different sales networks and models. How will BYD respond to this even more difficult question this time? The answer to this question may be the most critical factor in deciding the future trend of the NIO brand.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.