Denza launches new electric N7 SUV in China
Denza, BYD’s Chinese joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, is preparing to launch a new model. According to the registration application with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the vehicle is an electric SUV called the Denza N7.
Registration with the MIIT usually takes place several months before the planned sales launch. The ministry’s publication provides initial images and technical data even before the official debut of a new model.
That is also the case with the Denza N7, which will be available in four variants. In each case, there are versions with one and two motors. The former has an output of 230 kW, and the latter comes with an additional motor that produces 160 kW. The LFP batteries are made by BYD. The battery sizes and range of the different variants have yet to be made public.
The SUV is 4.86 metres long and offers a wheelbase of 2.94 metres. Width is listed at 1.94 metres, while the N7 is 1.60 metres high. And it is expected to reach a top speed of 180 kph.
Denza has not yet said how much the newcomer will cost. But there are hints that the N7 will likely not be cheap. In December, Zhao Changjiang, general manager of Denza’s sales department, posted prototype photos on Weibo and stated in the comments that the SUV “is aimed at capturing the market for traditional internal combustion engine cars priced around 400,000 yuan” ($57,440).
Since the Denza joint venture, founded in 2011, has fallen short of expectations in terms of EV sales, Mercedes reduced its shares from 50 to 10 per cent in December 2021. There is so far only one Denza model currently available, the D9 van, of which Denza sold 7,325 units in February.
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