2 days ago
18
The distributor of BYD cars in Australia, EVDirect, has been snubbed in plans to sell the Chinese car giant's luxury Denza range locally.
Upcoming Denza luxury cars from BYD will be sold in Australia by head office through a factory-backed operation – not the independent distributor that led the master brand to 35,000-plus sales in three years.
BYD has previously confirmed plans to field a range of more expensive models in Australia under the Denza name, expected to be led by a large off-road SUV badged Denza B5.
It has now been confirmed head office will manage the sale of Denza cars in Australia, rather than calling on EVDirect, the local importer responsible for the main BYD brand.
It means the two brands are likely to sell their cars in distinct showrooms – though this is yet to be locked in – and it's unclear for now if they will share any service locations, or instead operate as standalone marques locally.
EVDirect CEO David Smitherman told Drive "everything's positive" in the relationship between the importer and BYD, and did not indicate plans to move the main BYD brand to factory distributorship.
"I think it's already on record that BYD HQ is going to bring that [Denza brand] into market," he said.
"But from my point of view, my remit is focused on [BYD], so I don't know enough to talk about it."
More than 35,000 BYD passenger vehicles have been delivered in Australia under EVDirect's management since the first Atto 3 was delivered in 2022, preceded by small numbers of two older models, the T3 city van and E6 hatchback.
The Chinese car giant's relationship with the Australian distributor traces back at least a decade to two other local BYD bus and car importers previously run by EVDirect founder and managing director Luke Todd.
BYD cut its ties with the more recent of the pair – bus specialist Nexport, with which the EVDirect chief is no longer affiliated – two years ago, and has since moved to a factory-backed operation.
Ateco – responsible for the Ram, Maserati, LDV and Renault brands in Australia – is the distributor of BYD cars in New Zealand.
Asked by Drive if Yangwang would be imported by EVDirect, or instead "more of a BYD head office thing", Smitherman said: "More a head office thing."
"I guess my comment on all of that is we've got so much more depth of product for BYD, as evidenced by what's in China. There's so much more to go on that, so that's my focus."
The first shipments of Denza vehicles are expected to reach local showrooms in the second half of 2025, though precise details of timing, the model range and prices are yet to be confirmed.
It is expected the range will start with the Denza B5, a Toyota Prado-sized large plug-in hybrid four-wheel-drive sold in China as the Fangchengbao Bao 5.
Trademarks have been filed in Australia for the Denza D9L hybrid and electric people mover, Denza Z9GT electric super wagon, and Denza B8, likely to be a rebadge of the larger Fangchengbao Bao 8 (below).
"There is still a consideration going on about which [Denza] model we're going to bring to Australia," BYD Asia-Pacific general manager Liu Xueliang told Australian media via a translator last month.
"What we can make sure right now is that more than one model will come to Australia."
In Hong Kong – a right-hand-drive market where the brand operates – Denza's sole model is an electric version of the D9 people mover.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
