Mercedes-Benz exits joint venture with BYD

A Chinese luxury car brand founded by Mercedes-Benz and BYD is now exclusively owned by the latter, after the German giant reportedly sold its remaining shares.

According to Automotive News Europe, Mercedes-Benz has sold its 10 per cent stake in Denza, which it co-founded with BYD in 2010. At the time Mercedes-Benz and BYD held equal shares of the company.

Mercedes-Benz reduced its ownership stake to its most recent level in 2021, and now BYD has reportedly secured full ownership of Denza just days before its launch of its Porsche Taycan-rivalling Z9 GT electric wagon on September 20.

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It’s not yet known why Mercedes-Benz offloaded its remaining shares in Denza to BYD, and whether Europe’s upcoming import tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) were a factor in the decision.

BYD was initially hit with a 17.4 per cent tax rate, since reduced to 17 per cent even. Other brands are facing tariffs of up to 36.3 per cent, threatening to significantly decrease profit margins.

The Denza Z9 GT has been tested in Europe and benchmarked against a petrol-powered Porsche Panamera and a Ferrari GTC4Lusso, suggesting it’ll go on sale there.

It’s set to be the brand’s electric flagship, with Chinese government filings showing it’ll produce 710kW from its three motors and use a BYD Blade battery.

Denza’s current lineup in China consists of EVs and plug-in hybrids, with all models on sale having debuted within the past two years, following a restructure in 2021 due to dissatisfaction from Mercedes-Benz executives.

Despite selling right-hand drive models in markets such as Hong Kong, BYD hasn’t yet announced plans to launch Denza in Australia.

MORE: Everything you need to know about Denza, a BYD and Mercedes-Benz experiment MORE: BYD’s Denza Z9 GT is an electric sports wagon aimed at the Porsche Taycan