Denza presents the D9 electric & hybrid van

Denza, BYD’s Chinese joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, has unveiled the D9, a van available with a choice of pure electric or hybrid drive. Prices for the BEV start at 390,000 Yuan (€55,000).

+ + Kindly see our update below + +

The two all-electric versions of the Denza D9 are based on BYD’s E-Platform 3.0 with Blade batteries. The platform and battery combination make for a range of over 600 kilometres according to Chinese standards and pre-sales have commenced at prices of 390,000 and 460,000 yuan (around 55,000 and 65,000 euros) respectively.

While the price is considerably higher than what is usually available on the Chinese market, popularity has not lagged for the D9 electric van: Denza announced a few hours after the launch that the D9 MPV received more than 3,000 orders within 30 minutes of the start of pre-sales.

A hybrid version of the D9 is also available with four different battery options with a price range of 335,000 – 445,000 yuan. The electric range is listed from 50 km to 180 km, corresponding to up to 1,040 kilometres total range, albeit according to the outdated NEDC standard.

In terms of charging, a 150 km range can be charged in only 10 minutes, while 30 minutes is sufficient to charge from a 30 per cent battery charge state to 80 per cent.

Denza made headlines late last year when Daimler announced their intention to reduce its involvement shares, leaving 90 per cent of the venture in BYD’s hands. The two companies had been ramping up investment in the joint venture since 2018.

Update 25 August 2022:

Denza, BYD’s Chinese joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, has started selling its D9, which was presented in May. The van is available with either pure electric or hybrid drive and is scheduled for delivery from next month onwards. With hybrid drive, Denza offers four variants at prices between 329,800 and 439,800 yuan (48,200 to 64,280 euros), while as a pure electric van, there are three versions to choose from, costing between 389,800 and 459,800 yuan. That is the equivalent of between 56,970 and 67,200 euros.

There are some minor changes to the pre-sale that started a few months ago. Firstly, the prices have dropped by about 5,000 yuan, and secondly, there were only two BEV variants in the pre-sale instead of three. The LFP battery has a capacity of 103 kWh, which should be enough for a range of 620 kilometres. The maximum charging power is 166 kW. A special feature: the D9 EV has two charging ports that can also be used in parallel.

Since the Denza D9 has hardly any competition as a premium van with an electric drive, pre-sales have apparently been quite successful: In June, it was said that there were 20,000 pre-orders. At the sales launch event, Denza just announced that reservation holders had already had the opportunity to place a binding and non-refundable order. Within an hour, 10,206 customers are said to have ordered the D9.

Update 27 October 2022:

Denza has started production and deliveries of its D9, presented in May. The van, which is available with either pure electric or hybrid drive, was originally supposed to be delivered from September onwards. Denza is now saying that it is unable to keep to this timeline and is first starting deliveries now in October. According to Weibo Post, the model started shipping to Denza outlets in various cities on 23 October, and delivery to owners is expected to begin.

Previous announcements said the company was expecting to deliver more than 3,000 units by October, reaching 5,000-7,000 units in November, 10,000 units in December and 10,000 units in January. It is unclear exactly how this timetable will be affected, now starting a month later than planned. The delays are said to have been influenced by European suppliers and the Covid outbreak in Shanghai.

The Chinese carmaker, in which Mercedes/Daimler has a stake, is still saying that interest in the model is still high, with more than 30,000 orders so far with non-refundable deposits.

cnevpost.com, denza.com, weibo.com (in Chinese) update: cnevpost.com, pandaily.com, sina.com.cn, update II: cnevpost.com (production) nevpost.com (deliveries)