BYD is launching its luxury Denza brand here, and it expects to poach buyers from established premium marques.
The Chinese brand it isn’t hoping to sell vehicles in quite the same volumes as luxury market leaders BMW and Mercedes-Benz, but it has its sights set on cracking the top five for premium brands.
“If you’re looking at Mercedes-Benz or BMW, that’d be a bit of a stretch in the first year,” Denza Australia chief operating officer Mark Harland told CarExpert.
“But certainly, if we look at other premium brands that would be in the top five, you’d say Range Rover, Lexus, Audi – all of those would be top-five premium brands. That’s my benchmark.”
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To the end of November, BMW is leading luxury car sales in Australia this year with 24,394 deliveries. Mercedes-Benz has delivered 21,050 vehicles (excluding its Vans division), while Audi has shifted 14,265, Lexus 13,360, and Land Rover (including Range Rover vehicles) is sitting at 7803.
Last year, BMW was Australia’s best-selling luxury brand with 26,341.
Denza is becoming BYD’s global premium brand, selling vehicles from not only the Chinese-market Denza lineup but also Fangchengbao and potentially the luxury Yangwang marque. The first two Denza-badged vehicles, the B5 and B8 large off-road SUVs, are Fangchengbaos.
It’s only the second Chinese auto brand to launch in Australia that’s positioned as an overtly premium brand, after Geely’s Zeekr brand, but the company doesn’t see its country of origin as being an obstacle.
“I think actually, what we did with BYD has kind of allayed some of those concerns,” said Mr Harland.
“In fact, I think there’s more and more people in the car-buying universe of Australia that are seeing that the best technology in the world is coming out of China. So I think there’s a much greater acceptance of Chinese brands, because that’s where the tech is.
“That’s where a lot of the manufacturing is happening for high-end brands. So I think there’ll still be some concerns, but I think once people get behind the wheel, that largely goes away.”
While Denza vehicles are priced and positioned well above those from the BYD brand, both the B5 and B8 off-road SUVs slide in under $100,000 before on-road costs – and the company says it has found its niche.
“I actually see us, because of our very aggressive price point, competing at both ends of the market, meaning some of those mainstream SUVs that are transacting at that $80,000-90,000 mark, and some luxury SUVs that transact at a much higher price point,” he said.
“My main job in the early days, besides setting up the dealer network and taking care of customers, is really getting test drives. I want to get people – and yes, it could be a Prado driver, it could be a Range Rover driver. I want to get as many people to drive our car to see the difference.”
The B5 is roughly the size of a Toyota Prado or Lexus GX, but is priced more in line with the former; likewise the B8 against the Toyota LandCruiser/Lexus LX duo.
Denza showrooms will be separate from BYD ones, except in less populous regions like Tasmania, and the brand is aiming for a different experience “more fitting to a premium customer” with elements like concierge services.
It plans to have 20-25 dealerships by the end of next year with coverage in “all the key markets”, while taking advantage of BYD’s existing parts support.
For now, the B5 and B8 are the only Denza models locked in for Australia, but the company is also eyeing luxury sedans, wagons and people movers, and even a sports car.