Denza D9 History

Debuting in May 2022 and going on sale in China on 23 August 2022, the D9 was the first entirely new model produced under BYD's majority ownership after Mercedes-Benz reduced its stake to just 10 percent at the end of 2021. It targets China's booming premium MPV segment — a category dominated in the luxury tier by the Toyota Alphard — and is offered in both plug-in hybrid (DM) and battery-electric (EV) configurations.

The D9's interior emphasises the captain's-chair business-car experience that Chinese executive buyers expect: powered sliding doors, reclining second-row thrones, and a generous wheelbase that creates lounge-like rear-cabin space. The PHEV variant uses BYD's fifth-generation DM system, while the BEV version targets over 600 km of CLTC range.

The D9 became Denza's volume leader almost immediately. By June 2025 the 250,000th unit had rolled off the production line — a milestone Denza cited as the fastest any new-energy MPV had reached the quarter-million mark globally. Right-hand-drive versions for Hong Kong launched in June 2024, and the model has since been offered in Southeast Asian markets as part of Denza's international expansion.