BYD’s premium brand will start with super-hybrid SUVs.

INAUGURAL products for New Zealand from Denza have been decided and priced - but exactly how this BYD premium brand will operate here and exactly when product will avail has yet to be explained.

The parent brand and its upmarket offshoot make are under wholly different distribution arrangements here.

Denza is with BYD Australia and New Zealand, a factory operation based in Melbourne that started up just a couple of months ago. NZ operations appear to run from there. It is a direct conduit to China.

BYD NZ is run by Ateco Automotive, an intermediary between the factory and its customers that effectively began business in 2023, with the launch of the Atto3 electric car. Ateco represents a number of brands here.

Industry speculation is those different avenues make the likelihood of the upmarket make availing from BYD’s national retail chain unlikely, but neither is so far commenting.

For now, Denza offers just a website for anyone with interest in the B5 and B8, a pair of petrol-electric sports utilities on a BYD platform.

Pricing of $88,990 is announced for the standard B5 and $96,990 for the B5 Leopard and $109,990 to $117,990 for the larger B8 in its seven family-first and dearer six-seater (as an executive setup with individual second-row chairs) configurations.

The stickers enforce Denza is leaving the entry level of the market to its founder and will instead aim for more affluent buyers.

In other markets, it has expressed desire to tempt luxury buyers away from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and even Porsche showrooms.

Additionally, it has also cited the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (150kW/500Nm, from $84.990) as a B5 foe and the Land Cruiser 300 Series (117kW/700Nm, from $139,990) as fair game for the B8.

Both Denza models are on BYD’s DM-O (Dual Mode Offroad) super-hybrid underpinning also employed by the BYD Shark 6 utility.

B5 uses the same 135kW 1.5-litre petrol engine as the Shark and a 31.8kWh battery, but more powerful electric motors involve, so power is 400kW against the BYD’s 321kW and torque is 760Nm, a 110Nm increase.

The B8 achieves the same electric architecture, but the engine in marriage is a 2.0-litre. Torque is as per the B5, but the combined power output is cited at 425kW. Denza cites 0-100kmh in 4.8 seconds.

Equipment highlights across the B5 line-up are expected to include a 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, Nappa leather upholstery and a suite of advanced safety features including a 360-degree camera and 11 airbags.

The B5 Leopard adds 'DiSus-P' hydraulic adaptive suspension, front and rear differential locks and a 3000kg braked towing capacity.

B8's equipment includes soft-close doors, Nappa leather, heated, ventilated and massaging seats, a cooler/hotbox, 15.6-inch rotating touchscreen, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel an an 18-speaker Devialet audio system. The six-seater sports a pair of captain's chairs in the middle row and twin locking diffs.