“Today marks an important milestone for Denza in the Philippines. We are introducing a brand for individuals who seek a premium mobility experience—where innovation enhances comfort, every detail is carefully considered, and every journey feels refined and effortless. The D9 is just the beginning of our commitment to delivering this, and we look forward to expanding our presence in the months ahead,” said Adam Hu, Country Head of BYD and Denza Philippines, during the brand’s grand launch at the Shangri-La at the Fort last Friday.
No less than executive class—that’s the tagline of the new Denza D9. This MPV from BYD’s premium arm seems like a rebadged project of the BYD eMAX 9. Open the doors though and you’ll immediately realize it is not.
The Denza D9 makes a big splash beginning with its size. It measures 5,256mm long, 1,960mm wide, and 1,920mm tall, with a wheelbase of 3,110mm. It boasts of 410L cargo space even with the rear seats up, that can be extended to 2,310L. Denza also says the second row can have up to 1,215mm of leg space, while the third row can have up to 920mm of space (but not at the same time).
Attention to detail is where the Denza justifies the price. The front has what Denza calls a “Pi-motion” face, while the side profile’s silhouette features a “Meteor Trail waistline”. The rear also has a flair with its “Star Feather” taillight design.
The D9’s difference from its BYD brother is apparent immediately once you open the second row. You have Nappa leather on the captain seat (there’s a separate panoramic sunroof for the rear), and the door panels have natural wood veneers making every car unique in terms of pattern or wood design.
Living up to its tagline, the second row is definitely the place to be. The captain seats are wider and have a Zero Gravity function. This reclines the whole seat up to 152 degrees and pushes out the leg rest for a full body pressure relief and relaxation. This is accompanied by a touch-based control screen on the armrest that lets you control the 10-point massage, heating, ventilation, and other things in the area. You can adjust the sunshade of the panoramic roof, the second row’s aircon, and even the temperature of the 7.5L fridge that can go from -6° to 50° to keep drinks cold or food warm.
As for the third row, it has a wide space for 3 people. There’s a good sitting position and each corner gets an illuminated USB-A charging port as well as twin cup holders and a cubby hole.
Denza returned to using vents and shifters here in the D9, but with a touch more class. The other front section amenities have been improved as well. The driver has more buttons now for the boss’s needs like the power sliding doors, powered tailgate, and the refrigerator. It also boasts Blind Spot Detection, Parking Sensors, Drive Modes, and Power Modes.
At the center of the dash is a massive 15.6-inch unit that has 1080p resolution. It’s customizable to a degree and you can even change your wallpaper. In front of the driver, aside from the digital gauge cluster, is a 12-inch Heads-Up display while the Rear View Mirror is also digitalized.
Denza didn’t share exact power figures for the D9. What they gave is its capability thanks to the 5th generation DM-i technology. The D9 has an All-Wheel Drive system and can go up to 180 kms on EV Mode, and has a 980-km combined range. Ride comfort is also plush thanks to the DiSus C Adaptive Suspension system that can respond to movement in milliseconds.
It has a 40kWh battery and has an 80kW fast charging capability, allowing it to power up from 30% to 80% in just 25 minutes. It can also switch between EV, HEV Parallel, and HEV Series depending on the car’s need, and has a 3.3 kW V2L power supply.
For safety, it has nine airbags and the DiPilot Advanced Intelligent Driving Assistance. It features Adaptive Cruise Control, Front Collision Warning, Rear Collision Warning, and Automatic Emergency Braking, among others.
Like the BYDs before it, the Denza D9 has NFC, Bluetooth, and Digital Key. It also has its own Denza app that allows you to control even the refrigerator, along with the car’s startup and windows among others.
The Denza D9 is priced at PHP4,298,000 (with a introductory price of PHP3,998,000 for the first 300 buyers) and will come with a brown and black interior theme. It will be available in Cosmos Black, Arctic White, Starry Night Grey, and Whale Sea Blue.
More Denzas coming soon
The grand launch also offered a sneak peek at the upcoming Denza models.
First is the Z9 GT. This estate or “shooting brake” is a sleek monster that’s available as a battery-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid with a 3-motor setup. It has up to 952 hp (BEV) that can go 0-100 in a mere 3.4 seconds. The amazing part is, it can still eke out more than 1,000km in both powertrains, making the BEV a great tourer as well. Its 3-motor system also allows it to do a “compass turn” or “crab walk” in tight maneuvers.
The second ones are coming sooner than later. These are the B5 and B8, ladder-frame SUVs that started the DM-O platform that the BYD Shark 6 also uses. The B5 is sized close to mid-sized SUVs, while the B8 is a full-size SUV that aims to compete with the Land Cruiser 300.
Both of these SUVs are plug-in hybrid only. The B5 uses a 1.5L turbo engine generator that produces around 677 hp while the B8 uses a 2.0L turbo engine that can put out more than 700 hp. Both have a combined range of about 1,000+ km and can go 0-100 in 4.8 seconds, which is amazing for the larger B8.
Denza is clearly not letting the BYD momentum go to waste. Instead of gauging the market and dipping their toes, they’re going all-in with these flagship offerings. They’re also ready with more dealer sign-ups and ground-breakings, so Denza will surely have more homes in the country. It would be interesting to see if they can disrupt the premium market the same way BYD did to the mainstream brands.
