Denza Z9GT coming to Europe in April with 1,500kW charging

Denza will launch its Z9GT in Europe next month, marking the brand’s arrival on the continent as well as the launch of its 1,500kW Flash charging.

The premium performance wing of BYD, Denza plans to launch three models in Europe and the UK this year as well as pioneering the group’s ultra-rapid DC charging.

The Z9GT is its first offering – a high-performance shooting brake with European-influenced design – and is expected to compete with the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT and upcoming Mercedes-AMG 4-Door.

It is due to launch in the coming weeks and will be available in rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive guises. Denza says the rear-wheel-drive model will return up to 497 miles of range from its 122kW battery. Meanwhile the all-wheel-drive model will use a tri-motor setup to deliver more than 947bhp and a 0-62mph time of less than three seconds.

Central to the Denza’s launch is the simultaneous arrival of BYD’s Flash charging service. The group already has thousands of its devices installed across its native China and plans for a major European roll-out this year, including 300 units in the UK.

In tandem with the Z9GT’s Blade Battery 2.0, it can operate at up to 1,500kW and deliver a 60% charge in just five minutes – on a par with refuelling a petrol car.

Denza says the Z9GT’s super-fast charging demonstrates its ‘Ready in 5, Full in 9, Cold Add 3’ mantra. Working at its peak, the system can take the battery from 10%-70% in five minutes, 10%-97% in just nine minutes, and 20%-97% in 12 minutes in -30°C.

There is a caveat – Denza says its charging stations can deliver up to 1,500kW of power when using the Chinese-market connector. It’s not yet clear what that means for Europe and its standard CCS2 plug.

Stella Li, BYD executive vice president, commented: “The introduction of the Denza Z9GT in Europe marks a very important milestone for our brand.

“It’s the perfect choice as we start our global rollout of Flash charging in Europe. The ability to add hundreds of kilometres of range in just minutes, even in extremely low temperatures, means the Z9GT perfectly reflects our vision for technology that inspires, performance that excites and elegance that defines the future of premium mobility.”