News / 28 February 2025 / Michael Taylor

New Chinese luxury car brand on the cards for South Africa – Details

Chinese automaker Denza has announced that it plans to launch in Western markets later this year, which likely includes South Africa.

Denza is a luxury sub-brand of electric-car maker BYD and has thus far limited its sales to China and parts of Southeast Asia such as Thailand and Singapore.

However, the brand is now looking to expand to other markets, and will make its official debut in Europe at the Brera Design Week in Milan, Italy on 7 April.

BYD South Africa also recently published a press statement with the title “Denza is coming,” heavily implying that the nameplate is heading to our shores as well, though it did not confirm this outright.

“Prepare for a car that does much more than take its driver to its destination – a vehicle turns the journey into a unique sensory experience,” it said.

We’ve also found trademark filings for Denza on South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, further lending credence to the idea of a local rollout.

Who is Denza

Denza was founded in May 2010 as a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, who signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an equal-ownership entity.

Its first car, simply titled the Denza EV (electric vehicle), went on sale in 2014 and was later renamed the Denza 500 in 2018 following an extensive update.

The company launched its second model, the Denza X, in 2019, which was based on the BYD Tang with both the exterior and interior design being handled by Mercedes.

These initial offerings were exclusive to the Chinese market, but things started to change in 2021 following a major restructuring of the brand.

Mercedes, which was reportedly unsatisfied with Denza’s sales numbers, reduced its stake in the company from 50% to 10%, making BYD the majority shareholder with 90%.

A new car, the D9, was launched as both a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric vehicle in 2022, and Denza continued to expand its dealership network throughout China.

In June 2024, Denza expanded outside of mainland China for the first time when it opened dealerships in Hong Kong, which is doubly significant as Hong Kong is a right-hand-drive market, whereas China is left-hand-drive.

Mercedes-Benz transferred its remaining stake in Denza in September 2024, effectively turning the company into a wholly-owned luxury subsidiary of BYD, and the automaker has since expanded into other Southeast Asian markets.

It’s too soon to say for sure which cars may be coming to South Africa, but as a reference, Denza currently sells five individual models, which are as follows: