Denza has shared two official images of the N9, an SUV that an executive said will be powered by BYD's tri-motor-enabled e3 technology.

Denza, BYD's (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, is starting to preview its new model, the Denza N9, as it looks to expand its product matrix.

Denza today shared two images of the N9 SUV (sport utility vehicle) on its Weibo account, showing the model's large dimensions.

The brand did not share more information about the N9 today, but Denza's head of sales, Zhao Changjiang, said on Weibo that the SUV will be powered by BYD's e3 technology.

“Denza N9 is a tech Super Gentleman,” Zhao said.

The e3 technology can be seen as a scaled-down version of BYD's e⁴ technology built for ultra-luxury cars, based on the Xuanjian architecture, which brings tri-motor independent drive with dual-motor independent steering at the rear wheels.

Denza launched the Z9GT on September 20 with a starting price of RMB 334,800 ($47,290), the first model to feature e3 technology.

The brand shared several images of the camouflage-wrapped N9 during summer testing on September 25, when Zhao said the model will be an SUV that its peers would not be able to catch up within five years.

Yesterday, Weibo user @-Varluft_ shared several spy shots of the camouflage-less N9, saying that the photos were taken in London, England.

Denza was originally founded in February 2011 as a 50-50 joint venture between BYD and Daimler, the first Chinese-foreign joint venture focused on NEVs in China. In February 2022, the Daimler brand was rebranded as Mercedes-Benz.

BYD increased its stake in Denza to 90 percent in 2022 and took the remaining 10 percent last month.

Denza initially launched the Denza 300, Denza 400, and Denza 300, three now-discontinued battery electric vehicle (BEV) models, and the Denza X hybrid SUV. Sales of these early Denza models were weak and the brand was not well known.

BYD relaunched the Denza brand in mid-2022 and unveiled the D9 MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) on May 16, 2022, as the first model in the brand's refresh.

The Denza D9 was officially launched on August 23, 2022 and deliveries began on October 25 of the same year.

Prior to the launch of the Z9GT last month, Denza launched the N7 SUV on July 3, 2023 and the N8 SUV on August 5 last year.

The N8 appears to have been discontinued and it had 0 monthly sales from June through September, according to data compiled by CnEVPost. The Denza website also no longer displays the N8.

($1 = RMB 7.0798)

BYD Denza launches tri-motor-equipped Z9GT with starting price of $47,460