Another Chinese car brand is coming to the UK, and it might be the most significant yet

A lot of Chinese car companies have expanded to the UK in the last couple of years. Brands like BYD, Jaecoo and Omoda have quickly established a reputation for offering mid-size SUVs that, while a little bland by European standards, include a lot of tech for a very reasonable price.

But now, not satisfied by capturing the lower end of the market, some Chinese brands are squaring up against premium car makers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

One such example is Denza, which is due to land in the UK later this year. Denza is a sub-brand of BYD, the Chinese car giant that houses a group of brands in a similar way to what Volkswagen does in Europe.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, Denza was founded in 2010 as a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz. It now builds over 150,000 cars per year. Not many compared to parent BYD, whose own brand shifted over four million cars globally in 2025. But Denza doesn’t target the budget market – instead, it’s going after luxury German brands, and even has plans to rival high-performance cars from Porsche and Mercedes.

As a sign of intent, Denza made its UK debut at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where its new ‘Z’ car range underlined its desire to take on established luxury brands. This vehicle family is headed by the Z9 GT, an elegant estate not dissimilar in proportions to the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo.

It’ll be available in the UK as an all-electric or plug-in hybrid, with the former claiming over 900 horsepower and 391 miles of range; charging can add up to 249 miles of range in five minutes, BYD says. The hybrid can do a claimed 125 miles of battery power alone, and ups this to 684 miles when using the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine too.

Although a product of the BYD group, the Z9 GT uses a platform, called e3, that was created specifically for the Denza brand. It features a triple-motor electric drivetrain and independent rear-wheel steering that can make the car move diagonally like a crab to assist parking.

The cabin is packed with tech, as you’d expect from an up-market Chinese brand. There’s a 17.3-inch touchscreen on the dashboard, along with a 13.2-inch driver display, and one for the passenger too. Audio comes from a 20-speaker Devialet sound system. This all sounds very impressive, but an unknown for now is the UK price. BYD charges from around £45,000 for the Denza Z9 GT in China, but Chinese prices rarely translate faithfully into Western markets, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Zenza’s UK operation will also bring the D9 and B5 to our shores in mid-2026. The former is an all-electric, seven-seat minivan like the Mercedes EQV, with a claimed 370 miles of range and the ability to add 93 miles of range in 10 minutes.

Lastly, the Denza B5 headed our way is a premium, plug-in hybrid SUV with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine working alongside a 31.8 kWh battery to give almost 700 horsepower, a 0-62 mph time of under five seconds and 55 miles of electric-only range. As with the Z9 GT, UK prices for the D9 and B5 are unknown for now.

Speaking at Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer, BYD executive vice president Stella Li said of Denza: “This is a brand that has always had its roots in European design in particular, and we’re confident that British car enthusiasts will find inspiration in how Denza blends that influence with our sophisticated technologies, the finest craftsmanship and, for the first time in this segment, a true focus on efficient, sustainable new-energy powertrains.”

Will Denza prove as popular as other Chinese brands? And will it convince buyers of premium cars from German companies to try something new? A lot of this will depend on the quality of Denza’s UK-market vehicles and, crucially, how much they cost.