Oct 14, 2024
BYD's luxury premium brand, Denza, has been officially launched in Singapore, and the Chinese carmaker marked the arrival of its first car here, the D9, with a star-studded extravaganza.
The launch was spread across three events on Oct 10, with the official unveiling by BYD Singapore taking place at the Shangri-La Hotel, where it was also announced that actor Li Nanxing has been appointed as the official ambassador for the Denza D9 in Singapore.
Official Denza dealers Harmony Auto and Vantage Automotive Limited also held their own individual launch events for the D9. Harmony's event at Ion Orchard, where the car will be on public display until Oct 19, was graced by MediaCorp artiste Zoe Tay, while Vantage's event, held at their showroom along Alexandra Road, also saw the presence of Nanxing along with several other MediaCorp artistes.
BYD Singapore has ambitious plans for Denza in Singapore, having seen the BYD brand garner the number one spot on the sales charts for the first eight months of this year. James Ng, managing director for BYD Singapore, pointed out that MPVs made up 17 per cent of all passenger cars registered in Singapore in 2023, and Denza's target is for the D9 to be the top-selling MPV here.
To that end, BYD is pulling out all the stops to make Denza a success. Vantage will be dedicating an entire showroom floor to the brand, separated from BYD and the other brand that it represents, Peugeot. Harmony Auto meanwhile announced that it will be opening a dedicated facility for BYD and Denza at Ubi Close on Oct 21, taking over from the space that currently houses the Opel showroom.
Furthermore, BYD is also pricing the Denza D9 extremely competitively, as it aims to undercut its MPV rivals in the market. The base model Denza D9 Elite FWD is retailing for $296,888 including COE (as of October 2024), while the flagship Denza D9 Grandeur AWD is going for $341,888 including COE. This puts it in contrast with other luxury MPVs like the Toyota Alphard Hybrid and the upcoming Zeekr 009, both of which are priced above $400,000 with COE.
As a result, the Denza D9 has received an overwhelming response from customers, with representatives of both Vantage and Harmony revealing that they have received a total of 160 orders for the car collectively even before its official launch.
Anthony Teo, managing director of Vantage Automotive Limited, said that they have already sold out their first shipment of cars, and the dealer thanked their first 10 customers by presenting them with an exclusive model car of the D9 at the event.
The finalised specs for Singapore will see the D9 offered in two variants. The D9 Elite FWD features a single electric motor that sends power to the front wheels and develops a total of 308hp and 360Nm of torque, while range when fully charged is rated at 520km.
The D9 Grandeur AWD meanwhile features two electric motors driving all four wheels, and combines for a total of 369hp and 470Nm of torque. On a full charge, the D9 Grandeur AWD is able to travel up to 480km before the 103kWh battery runs out.
Standard features include a large panoramic sunroof and a 14-speaker premium audio system, but the highlight has to be the 6.8-litre refrigerator in the second row that can contain up to eight 350ml bottles of water, and cool them to a temperature of up to -5 degrees Celsius.
The second row also gets two individual 10-way electronically adjustable seats, each coming with its own touch-sensitive control panel where passengers can adjust the position or other settings like the ambient lighting and air conditioning.
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AsiaOne had a special preview of the car earlier when we were invited to Changsha, China to visit the BYD factory where the D9 is made, and first impressions revealed a very impressive package that is luxurious and refined. Watch out for a full local test drive review of the Denza D9 on AsiaOne soon.
ALSO READ: BYD builds on its sales success in Singapore with the launch of its new flagship showroom at Alexandra
