Denza, a luxury-car brand owned by Chinese automotive giant BYD, looks to be preparing for a South African launch.
We tracked down three trademark applications for Denza filed by BYD at South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission throughout 2024, indicating a strong probability that the nameplate will be coming to our roads in the future.
The first were for the Denza B5 and B8 which were both submitted on 22 May 2024 and are currently pending approval.
The second was for the Denza brand name and logo which was lodged on 13 June 2024 and is similarly awaiting approval.
It’s worth noting that BYD already registered the Denza brand name and logo in South Africa in June 2013 but later removed the trademark, with the June 2024 application seeking to register it once again, this time with a more up-to-date design.
In addition, Australian publication carsales reports that Denza will be making its debut in the Land Down Under in 2025.
This statement holds significance for South Africa, as there are many similarities between our market and theirs in terms of BYD’s offerings given that both are right-hand drive and have corresponding wants and needs.
BYD launched its first product in Australia, the Atto 3 crossover, in February 2022. The same model was introduced to the domestic market in June 2023 with a nearly identical model line-up and specifications.
Its second car, the Dolphin hatchback, made landfall in Australia in June 2023, with South Africa receiving it in May 2024, again with almost the exact same feature set.
Come December 2023, BYD introduced the Seal to the Aussies, with South Africans to get their hands on the sedan before the end of October 2024.
Based on these behaviours, combined with the local trademark applications, it seems all but confirmed that Denza will eventually reach local roads, probably around the early parts of 2026 if all goes well.
TopAuto reached out to BYD asking for more clarity around Denza’s possible South African introduction but failed to elicit a response.
Upcoming BYD Seal
What to expect
Denza is a luxury-car brand that launched in 2012 as a 50:50 joint venture between China’s BYD and Germany’s Mercedes-Benz.
In its home market, it was heralded as the first partnership between a foreign and domestic automaker focused purely on low-emission vehicles.
Things went as well as one could hope during its first decade with a few modest hits in China. In 2021, however, Mercedes decided to start distancing itself from Denza as it had quite a lot on its plate, not least the fact that it was busy courting one of Denza’s rivals, Geely.
Mercedes thus reduced its holdings in the burgeoning brand to 10% in 2021, leaving BYD in control of the remaining 90%.
By September 2024 the German company had divested all its shares, with BYD subsequently taking sole ownership of Denza.
Now, the relatively young nameplate aims to dethrone its previous partner and others like it on their own turf – the luxury segment.
Fang Cheng Bao 5
The trademark applications hint that Denza is looking at rolling out the B5 and B8 in South Africa, both swanky SUVs that cater to wealthy adventure seekers.
Both models are actually based on another BYD sub-brand’s cars, Fang Cheng Bao, and they are marketed as the Bao 5 and Bao 8 in other markets.
It seems that outside of China, BYD will be selling these models under the Denza brand with the naming schemes to be customised according to which market they are competing in.
For example, in Brazil it will be called the Denza Bao 5, as per QuatroRodas; whereas trademark documents from Iceland show it will be coined the B5, just like in South Africa.
The B5 comes in plug-in hybrid guise and measures 4.89m long, 1.97m wide, and 1.92m high, putting it in the same company as the Land Rover Defender 110.
Its powertrain consists of a 1.5-litre, turbo-petrol engine combined with two electric motors and a 38.1kWh battery pack.
The result is an impressive 485kW and 760Nm at the driver’s disposal, which is relayed to the tarmac through an electronic 4×4 system with three differential locks.
Despite tipping the scales at a hefty 2,980kg, the considerable output sees the B5 sprint to 100km/h in a mere 4.8 seconds.
The propriety BYD Blade Battery under the floorboards is also good for a driving range of 115km on electricity alone, with a maximum of 1,200km on the cards when all three engines work together.
Fang Cheng Bao 8
Not much is known at present about the larger Denza B8 as it has yet to be revealed in its entirety and is only earmarked to land on Chinese roads later this year.
Be that as it may, eagle-eyed car sleuths have already uncovered reliable information on the SUV.
CarNewsChina revealed that like the B5, the B8 will be available as a plug-in hybrid and boasts a sizeable silhouette of 5.2m from nose to tail, 2.0m from left to right, and 1.9m from top to bottom.
It features three engines, too, comprising one turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol and two e-motors for an impressive tally of 700kW.
Packing a 36.86kWh Blade Battery, the B8 is expected to provide roughly 100km of emission-free driving though its total combined range is still unknown.
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