Denza's first flagship store in Hong Kong will open at the end of June, and it will enter more overseas markets in the future.

BYD's premium electric vehicle (EV) brand Denza has embarked on an effort to expand into international markets, following in the footsteps of its parent company.

Denza has launched the D9 MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, with an intended local price tag of HK$660,000 ($84,498) to HK$750,000, the brand announced yesterday.

Denza's first flagship store in Hong Kong will open at the end of June, located in the Kowloon Bay auto mall, it said.

This marks the full advancement of Denza's international layout, and the brand will enter more countries and regions in the future, it said.

Denza is a joint venture set up by BYD and Daimler in February 2011, with each holding a 50 percent stake at the time. In February 2022, the Daimler brand was rebranded as Mercedes-Benz.

BYD's stake in Denza increased to 90 percent in 2022, and Mercedes-Benz's stake decreased to 10 percent.

The D9 is the first model under the new Denza brand, with the MPV initially going on sale in August 2022 and deliveries beginning in October of the same year.

The D9 is offered in the Chinese mainland in battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) versions, with the latter being the mainstay of sales.

The D9 currently on sale in the Chinese mainland was released on March 6, with a starting price of RMB 339,800 ($46,850) for the PHEV version and RMB 379,800 for the BEV version.

In addition to the D9, Denza has two other SUVs -- the N7 and N8 -- and at the Beijing auto show in late April, Denza unveiled its luxury flagship sedan, the Z9GT, which is expected to go on sale by the end of the year.

Denza delivered 12,223 vehicles in May, up 11.07 percent year-on-year and up 9.9 percent from April, according to data compiled by CnEVPost. The D9 delivered 10,158 units in May, contributing 83 percent.

In Jan-May, Denza delivered 47,290 vehicles and D9 contributed 42,945 vehicles or 91 percent.

($1 = HKD 7.8108, $1 = RMB 7.2545)

BYD Denza unveils Z9GT at Beijing auto show