Denza Z9 / Z9 GT History

Introduced at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2024, the Denza Z9 family represents the brand's most ambitious product: a full-size executive car directly targeting European luxury flagships. Two body styles are offered — a traditional four-door sedan (the Z9) and a dramatically styled five-door shooting brake / fastback (the Z9 GT) — with both available in PHEV (fifth-generation BYD DM system) and full-battery-electric configurations. Exterior design was led by Audi veteran Wolfgang Egger.

The BEV version of the Z9 GT produces a combined 710 kW (952 hp) from three electric motors mounted on the e-Platform 3.0 Evo architecture, reaching 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds. The PHEV uses a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine alongside three motors for a total of 640 kW system output and a combined range exceeding 1,100 km. A standout engineering feature is the rear-wheel independent steering system — four-wheel steering allows the car to pivot on its front axle ('crab walk'), perform a 360-degree U-turn in a single manoeuvre, and change lanes by steering all four wheels simultaneously.

The Z9 sedan launched at ¥338,000 (approximately $46,300) in November 2024 in China. The Z9 GT entered European showrooms in 2025 as Denza's first model for that market, initially in Germany and key Western European countries. A 2026 refresh of the GT pushed battery-electric range to approximately 1,036 km CLTC on a 900-volt architecture with a claimed 9-minute full charge, underlining how rapidly BYD's flagship technology advances.