The Denza D9 MPV has received nearly 1,000 orders in in Hong Kong since its June 11 local launch, the brand's chief said.

Denza, the premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand of BYD (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY), has opened its first Hong Kong flagship showroom, as the brand begins to expand internationally.

Denza's first flagship store in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region opened yesterday, located in the Kowloon Bay auto shopping district, according to a Weibo post by the brand's general manager of the sales division, Zhao Changjiang.

Denza launched the right-hand drive version of its D9 MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) in Hong Kong on June 11, with an intended local price tag of HK$660,000 ($84,498) to HK$750,000.

The D9 currently offered in the Chinese mainland was released on March 6, starting at RMB 339,800 ($46,810) for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version and RMB 379,800 for the battery electric vehicle (BEV) version, respectively.

Denza showcased the model at a flash store earlier this month and began accepting customer orders.

So far, the Denza D9 MPV has received nearly 1,000 orders in Hong Kong, Zhao said in the Weibo post yesterday.

In Hong Kong, the Toyota Alphard is highly visible and is the car of many celebrities, but that's about to change, Zhao said.

In the past, Hong Kong consumers didn't have much choice, but now they can opt for the higher-end, more luxurious and smarter Denza D9, he said.

With the opening of Denza's first flagship store in Hong Kong, the Z9GT made its debut in the city.

The Denza Z9GT is a global model benchmarked against top luxury cars, and a number of orders have already been placed on the spot, according to Zhao.

Denza is a joint venture formed in February 2011 by BYD and Daimler, 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, and the MPV initially went on sale in August 2022 and deliveries began in October of the same year.

The D9 is offered in the Chinese mainland in BEV and PHEV versions, with the latter being the main sales driver.

The other two Denza models on sale are the N7 and N8 SUVs (sport utility vehicles).

Denza unveiled the Z9GT, the brand's luxury flagship sedan model, on the first day of the Beijing auto show on April 25, albeit with a different rear-end design than a conventional sedan.

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 the January-May period, Denza delivered 47,290 vehicles and the D9 contributed 42,945 vehicles, or 91 percent.

($1 = RMB 7.2592, $1 = HKD 7.8074)

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