This is the new Denza X PHEV Ultimate Edition, an SUV with more horsepower than many sports cars. It is fast too, speeding to a hundred in just 4.3 seconds. Still, it is basically unknown outside of China.
First, some background: ‘Denza’ is a brand under the BYD-Daimler joint venture, based in Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province. Denza was founded in 2010 with the intention to combine BYD’s EV-technology with Daimler’s safety, build quality, and manufacturing experience. Sadly, it didn’t work out very well.
Their first car, also called ‘Denza’, was an odd mix-up of an old Mercedes-Benz B-Class platform with the electric drive train of the BYD e6. It was delayed by many years and when it finally hit the market in 2014 it looked outdated almost immediately. The joint venture had therefore big problems finding enough dealers willing to sell the Denza, leading to a limited availability. Even after two years, it was only available in some cities, not in the whole country. Needless to say, sales were poor and after a couple of updates the Denza was quietly killed in 2018.
BYD and Daimler seriously considered cancelling the entire joint venture. But with booming PHEV and EV sales in China they decided to continue anyway, with a new strategy: BYD platforms with Mercedes-Benz design. The new Denza X is based on the BYD Tang. The platform, drive train, electronics, dashboard, and interior are all BYD’s. The only difference with the BYD Tang is the design, which is drawn up by Mercedes. The body panels are all new but the Germans could not touch the hard-points so the proportions are still the same.
The resulting vehicle looks very sleek and modern, it proudly has “Styled by Mercedes-Benz” badges on the fenders. It is contract-manufactured by BYD for the BYD-Daimler joint venture, on the same production line as the BYD Tang. They have found a solution for the dealer problem too: The Denza X is sold via the existing Mercedes-Benz dealer network.
Now about the car itself. The X is available in way too many different PHEV and EV versions, in typical BYD style. But the only one you really want is the monstrous Denza X PHEV Ultimate Edition, a very powerful plug-in hybrid SUV. It has two electric motors, one over the front axle and one over the rear axle. Combined output is a massive 578 hp and 950 Nm. Accelerating from 0 to 100 takes 4.3 seconds and top speed is limited to 180 km/h. EV-only range is 80 kilometers and fuel consumption is 1.8 liter per 100 kilometers.
The Denza X stands on gigantic Continental Sportcontact 22-inch tires. For braking, Denza depends on Brembo’s GT Braking System. This setup is designed for fast cars and consists of cross-drilled brake discs front and rear. Diameter of the brake discs is 380 millimeter with a width of 34 millimeter. The aluminum brake calipers have six-pistons front and rear. It is still quite rare to see Brembo brakes on a China-made car and Denza gives them a prominent place in their marketing efforts.
The ultimate Denza X PHEV Ultimate Edition is priced at 357.800 yuan. A very decent price for the power. But there may be serious competition in the way. From… Denza, in the form of a new EV version. Currently, the most powerful Denza X EV has 493 horsepower but BYD is working on a new 600 hp electric drivetrain, which will be offered in the BYD Tang and in the Denza X. Well, the more horses the better!