Denza began as a BYD and Daimler partnership before BYD took full control
In 2010 a Chinese battery specialist and a German carmaker with more than 125 years of history set up an equal joint venture to build electric cars. Sales disappointed for years. Then BYD bought out almost all of Mercedes-Benz's share, and the reshaped Denza brand started exporting luxury plug-ins worldwide.
The name is invented, drawn from the Chinese Tengshi and loosely meaning rising power and momentum. BYD and Daimler signed a memorandum on 1 March 2010, and the joint company was formally established that May. When the brand was unveiled in March 2012, BYD founder Wang Chuanfu pitched the split neatly: BYD brought batteries, electric drives and road experience, while Daimler supplied premium design, safety and vehicle architecture know-how.
Progress was slow. The partners had invested over 300 million euros by September 2014, and the first model, the Denza EV, finally went on sale that December in selected cities, helped by state subsidies and free licence plates in Shanghai and Shenzhen. A restyle turned it into the Denza 500 in 2018, and a Tang-based SUV called the Denza X, shaped largely by Mercedes designers, followed but proved unpopular.
A reset came in December 2021. Mercedes-Benz cut its stake from 50 to 10 per cent, the X was dropped, and BYD poured money into new models. The D9 minivan arrived in August 2022 in hybrid and battery versions, followed by the N7 SUV in March 2023. In September 2024 Mercedes handed over its last 10 per cent, leaving Denza wholly owned by BYD.
Going global followed quickly. A flagship store in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, opened in June 2024 as the brand's first outpost beyond mainland China, and a launch event in Milan in April 2025 marked its European debut with the Z9 GT. Rebadged off-roaders, the B5 and B8, arrived for Middle Eastern buyers, Brazil followed in December 2025, and Daniel Craig became global ambassador for 2026.
Source: Denza
