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The latest Chinese brand to launch in Australia, Denza, is expecting to lure buyers away not only from mainstream brands, but also established premium models.
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Denza will be Australia’s first premium Chinese sub-brand Down Under, but the BYD-backed marque believes it can carve a space for itself amongst rivals like BMW, Audi, and Lexus with its off-road-focused first salvo.
Launching later this year, but with customer deliveries expected in early 2026, the initial Denza portfolio will be made up of the B5 large off-roader and B8 upper-large SUV – both featuring plug-in hybrid powertrains.
This differs from the strategies of BWM, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Land Rover, Porsche – and even Genesis and Alfa Romeo – in the premium space who all look to combine style, opulence, heritage, and a sporting flair in their respective models.
But it was the BYD Shark 6, which has 14,111 registrations to its name so far this year, that spurned Denza to target the off-road market first, according to the brand’s local boss Mark Harland.
“I think we’re bringing a completely new and different proposition to the marketplace,” Harland told Drive.
“We’re not saying ‘here’s our mainstream brand with a new badge and a few luxury appointments at a much higher price point.’
“These are completely different products that are bespoke, that are not rebadged – other than the rebadge from Fangchengbao to Denza.
“There’s a reason we didn’t lead with the D9 or Z9 GT or another vehicle that would have been available to us.
“We’re leading with putting our chin right out there with extreme off-road SUVs because we are that confident that we’re bringing a product that offers something different, that isn’t out there.
“Much in the way Shark disrupted utes, we think we can disrupt those volume segments – large and upper-large segments – by offering these unique powertrains that no one else has, this unique combination of technology and luxury at a price point that’s not achievable by a lot of the other OEMs.”
While Denza is not yet ready to detail specific price points of the B5 and B8, Harland’s comments indicate the SUVs will slot in between mainstream offerings and established premium players.
Harland said this approach will hopefully lure buyers up from something like a Toyota Prado, but also catch the eye of customers who might be shopping for something like a BMW X5.
“We’re not pretending to be a mainstream brand, so we’re not going to have mainstream prices per se,” Harland said.
“But I’m trying to make it as attainable as possible.
“We’re not hiding behind exclusivity, we’re not hiding behind 50 years of legacy and heritage, we’re not hiding behind red velvet ropes.
“We want people to join the house of Denza … we want to take as many people as possible and give them an experience they’ve never had before.
“My ambition is not to be a mainstream brand, or price up against mainstream brands, but we need to have a price that will attract some people from both ends of the spectrum.
“Premium, in my view, sits right in the middle.”
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Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
