BYD Vice President Yang Dongsheng speaks at the launch event of the Denza N7 electric SUV in Beijing, July 3, 2023.
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BEIJING – CHINESE EV GIANT BYD A new electric SUV is on the way, its most direct competitor yet Tesla’Y type.
BYD’s Denza brand said late Monday that it had received more than 20,000 reservations for its N7 all-electric SUV and announced a price range of 301,800 yuan to 379,800 yuan ($41,680 to $52,452).
That’s comparable to the Tesla Model Y, which was last priced between 263,900 yuan and 363,900 yuan, according to the company’s China website.
According to the company, deliveries of the Denza N7 are expected to start in about two weeks.
“The Denza N7 is aimed at the premium mid-size crossover segment, and its competitors include the Tesla Model Y and Nioh ES6,” said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
“Denza has been in the spotlight for years, but BYD is ready to showcase its revitalized brand, and the media frenzy demonstrates their confidence in the product and their desire to put pressure on incumbents,” he said.
At its more than an hour-long launch event on Monday, BYD showed clips of positive reviews from local auto media during a test drive.
On Weibo, a platform similar to China’s Twitter, the livestream of the event was viewed nearly 2 million times alone. This is much higher than the 200,000 live views of NIO’s press conference at the end of 2021.
In another page of NIO’s playbook, the Denza N7 had a live music performance following its launch in Beijing.
Mercedes-Benz Group owns 10% equity In Tengshi brand. Its previous-generation electric model, the D9 utility vehicle, has sold more than 10,000 vehicles per month since March. The car has been launched in Thailand and will go on sale in Hong Kong, Macau and Europe, a brand representative said on Monday, without giving specific dates.
technical features
From fast battery charging and interior driver assistance technology, to a host of in-car entertainment features, the launch of the Denza N7 showcases features to compete fiercely with NIO, Tesla and other leaders in China’s EV market.
“The Denza N7 is the first luxury SUV to enter the BBA market,” reads an English-language slide at the launch event, referring to the three major German premium brands Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.
During a live demonstration on Monday, Tenza sales general manager Zhao Changjiang pointed out the N7’s data privacy features, such as independent chip storage and the ability to turn off the camera.
The Denza N7 is also claimed to feature an augmented reality head-up display – which uses AR technology to digitally project information onto the road in front of the driver.some models include BYD’s new shock-absorbing technology makes for a smoother ride, which domestic rivals have yet to sell.
BYD VP Yang Dongsheng touts driver-assistance technology Qualcomm chip and Nvidia Orin, commonly used in assisted driving systems. Orin has not been affected by the U.S. ban on Nvidia selling more advanced chips to China.
The car cockpit is also connected to the Android smartphone operating system, Yang said.
Craig Zeng, chief financial officer of online car information and shopping site Autohome, said in an interview last month that in-car connectivity systems are more appealing than driver-assistance technology to young people accustomed to their phones. That’s according to CNBC’s translation of his remarks in Mandarin.
He said at the time that he expected competition in China’s new energy vehicle market to enter the price range of 400,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan and above. Zeng said that the price range of 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan has always been the main price range of Chinese cars.
New energy vehicles include hybrid vehicles.
EV market growth
The launch of the Denza N7 SUV comes as major EV startups see Deliveries jumped in June following recent weakness.NIO’s monthly deliveries returned to more than 10,000 vehicles, while Xpeng break through 8000.
ideal carThe company, whose cars come with gas tanks to recharge batteries and extend driving range, reported more than 32,000 vehicle deliveries in June.
Tesla sold about 42,500 vehicles in China in May, according to the latest data from the China Travel Association.
BYD remains market giant and says 128,196 battery powered units sold Passenger vehicles grew 84% year-on-year in June.
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