17 hours ago
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The next SUV to join the line-up of BYD's emerging luxury division in Australia could be a smaller, car-derived model aimed at urban buyers, not off-road tracks.
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A smaller and more affordable Denza SUV to join the off-road-capable B5 and B8 is at the top of the wishlist for Australia.
It would give the emerging BYD luxury spin-off a Toyota RAV4-sized competitor to the Zeekr 7X and prestige European small-to-mid-size electric cars, such as the Audi Q4 e-tron and BMW iX1.
Denza Australia chief operating officer Mark Harland told Drive the B3 is not on the cards for local showrooms, but a car like it is.
"I certainly have raised my hand for a small SUV," he said in recent weeks.
"I don't know if we'd get the B3 or not, but I think from a volume point of view, if I were to add a volume car – a sports car, it's nice and fun, but you're not adding volume – if I said, what I want next is to add the volume, I would say it would be that that midsize SUV as a Denza.
"Right now, as it stands right now, the B3 is not available to us ... but something in that size is probably number one on my wish list."
A left-hand-drive Tai 3 was previewed at the Bangkok motor show in the right-hand-drive Thai market last month with Denza B3 branding.
The Tai 3 is sold in China in a choice of 240kW/305Nm rear-wheel drive and 375kW/505Nm all-wheel drive variants, the latter claimed to be capable of a 4.7-second 0-100km/h acceleration time.
Both versions use a 75.6kWh battery pack for driving range ratings based on Chinese CLTC lab testing of 620km and 565km, respectively – estimated to equate to about 480km to 520km under less lenient WLTP standards common in Australia.
Ultra-fast 'Flash' charging allows its battery to be replenished from 10 to 70 per cent charge in a claimed five minutes, or 10 to 97 per cent in nine minutes, on a compatible plug.
Prices in China range from 153,800 to 169,800 (AUD$31,200 to $34,400) – about half the price of a top-of-the-range Denza B5, sold in China as the Fangchengbao Bao 5 plug-in hybrid (329,800 yuan).
The $79,990 plus on-road costs RRP of a flagship B5 Leopard in Australia hints at a local price as low as $40,000 for a B3, but such a model would likely sit closer to $50,000 if introduced, given the Atto 3 from the regular BYD marque starts at $39,990 plus on-roads.
Regardless of the smaller SUV Denza chooses to launch, it would not arrive until 2027 at the earliest.
"I think, in the future, there are more SUVs, and I'm talking probably 2027 at this point. You've got the four cars for 2026," Harland said.
The BYD spin-off will field the Toyota Prado-sized B5 and larger LandCruiser 300 Series-sized B8 alongside the electric D9 people mover and Z9 GT luxury wagon for this calendar year.
In China, the Fangchengbao brand also markets the Tai 7 – a car-derived, monocoque-platform large SUV likely to be exported as a BYD instead – while the main Denza marque has revealed the two-door Z.
Vehicles from the ultra-luxury Yangwang marque, including the circa-$200,000 U8 off-roader and circa-$400,000 U9 supercar, are also on the cards, albeit not in the near future.
One of 30 planned examples of the U9 Xtreme – the world's fastest production car, estimated at close to $1 million – has been ordered by Australian billionaire Nick Politis for import to local shores, but it will be left-hand drive.
"I'd love to have a proper sports car," Harland said.
"There's a whole bunch of stuff up there that, you know, I can get access to, as Mr Liu [BYD Asia-Pacific boss] reminded me ... I can access these cars as my sales volume, as my footprint, as my service capabilities increase.
"Denza, like BYD, if you hit your numbers, you can ask for additional vehicles. I just don't want to get too many vehicles here at the same time.
"I have four vehicles pretty quick. I just need to expand that dealer footprint, the processes and the systems, hire new staff, training of people, all of that stuff. I've got to get that infrastructure in place."
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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
