Denza debuts at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Have you considered leasing a Denza? Of course you haven’t, and for very good reason. The simple fact is that you’ve probably never heard of Denza because it’s only been a matter of weeks since the brand made its UK debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. You may not have heard of Denza, but you might have come across its parent company.

Denza is the premium brand of Chinese automotive giant, BYD Group, founded in 2010 as a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz (although Mercedes has since relinquished its stake in BYD).

It promises to bring a unique blend of European design and luxury experience with Chinese expertise in electrification when it launches in the UK next year.

As part of the build-up to starting sales at the beginning of 2026, Denza made its official public debut in the UK at the popular Goodwood Festival of Speed. Combining elegant European design influences, sophisticated materials and cutting-edge innovations like Super DM hybrid, Denza showed off a selection of models including the Z9GT Grand Tourer, B5 premium SUV, and D9 MPV.

In the case of Goodwood though, all eyes were on the stunning Z9GT – and no, it doesn’t look startlingly like a Porsche shooting brake.....honest.

Denza’s Z9GT brings many unique features to the premium market and offers the choice of either a pure-electric powertrain or the colossal range of a Super DM plug-in hybrid configuration.

At the heart of the Z9GT lies the e3 Platform, created specifically for Denza. It brings several world-first and class-leading functions, based on four core technologies: three-motor independent drive, rear-wheel dual-motor independent steering, Vehicle Motion Control, and Cell-to-Body (CTB) battery-body integration.

The Z9GT also demonstrates some of the unique capabilities of the e3 Platform, performing Compass U-Turns and showing how precision control, torque control and supreme steering enable easier parking manoeuvres in tight situations – and yes, it did all of those things on the stand, at the show, in front of an audience.

Denza's e3 Platform gives its cars abilities that are unique to the premium segment: the turning circle of a European city car in an E-segment model, and crab-walking functionality for narrow streets with obstacles.

And with BYD as the parent brand, advanced technology and smart connected experiences are also core characteristics. The interior of Denza models exudes a high-tech ambience, with a signature large touchscreen at the centre of the console and wraparound cockpit, as well as rear multimedia screens for passenger infotainment and premium sound systems.

Executive Vice President of BYD Stella Li commented: “We’re thrilled to be introducing Denza to UK customers, especially at the iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed. This is a brand that has always had its roots in European design in particular, and we’re confident that British car enthusiasts will find inspiration in how Denza blends that influence with our sophisticated technologies, the finest craftsmanship and, for the first time in this segment, a true focus on efficient, sustainable new-energy powertrains.”

Obviously, we can’t tell you much at the moment because we simply don’t know. Denza is rolling out across Europe over the next few months so it shouldn’t be too long until we have more details on the full range and specification coming to the UK.