Byd launches new luxury sports car as automakers compete for China's biggest auto show

Chinese electric vehicle giant Byd has beaten long-time leader Tesla in electric vehicle sales. Now, it is about to become a luxury sports car.

BYD's premium Denza series announced the Z on Wednesday, a flashy new dark blue model that shows the company's ambitions for high-end Western brands such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.

The launch opened at China's largest auto show, which attracted dozens of domestic and foreign automakers and many journalists to a vast exhibition center in the country's financial hub.

Before the unveiling, Denza Z sat on the black cover on the display floor. The side of Wang Chuanfu, the founder of Byd and one of the country's most famous entrepreneurs, was seen in the exhibition.

Carmakers announced a new release with its latest model and duel press conference to follow with flashy displays. The 10-day gathering attracted attention to China's thriving and the technical capabilities of Cutthroat electric vehicles (EVs), which shocked Western competitors not only at the pace of its innovation and growth, but also the quality of its valued products.

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported U.S. cars have sparked the global auto industry, China’s EV industry has become a hot topic – global brands are seeking opportunities to recalibrate strategies, including strengthening partnerships in an attempt to regain their former dominance in the world’s largest automotive market.

Byd is a clear leader in China's EV division, surpassing Tesla's Tesla last year. It continues to develop its strengths in the domestic market as American EV Maker, with the vast majority of its cars being sold.

On Tuesday, Tesla reported that quarterly revenue expectations fell as it faced opposition including Trump's escalating trade war and consumer opposition to CEO Elon Musk's role in the administration. Its overall sales fell by 9%, while its core business selling cars fell by 20%. Net income is the strictest definition of its profitability, down 71% from the same period last year.

Denza Z is highly anticipated after leaking images of the prototype online earlier this year, with company officials confirming that the model will “feature technology and luxury.”

It started as a joint venture with Mercedes a decade ago but is now fully owned by Byd, and the Denza brand was launched in Europe earlier this month.

Analysts say that while the BYD Core brand is known for its cheaper electric and hybrid vehicles, its Denza range shows the company's ambition to expand its portfolio and leverage its broad resources to achieve other markets.

The founder and managing director of consulting firm SINO Auto Insights told CNN that Byd only knows how to break into the offense. Their consistent and frequent vehicle and feature rollouts keep their competitors close behind, while the lowest in-class cost structure can make their products more aggressively priced. ”

He added that the Denza launch was in a period of vulnerability for Porsche, which could not “find their sales in China declined.” The German luxury sports car maker said in its annual report for 2024 that its sales in the country fell 28% last year, due to “continuously challenging economic conditions”.

CNN has contacted BYD for information on the price of Denza Z. Last month, the premium Denza Line’s N9 flagship SUV started selling at a starting price of 389,800 ($53,453). By comparison, the Byd's pop songs plus the more basic model SUV starts at about $18,500.

Byd also sold luxury electric vehicles as Yangwang, a premium 1 million yuan ($137,000) brand that passed the symbolic milestone of selling its 10,000th car earlier this month. The latest model, the U8L SUV, was launched in Automatic Shanghai earlier on Wednesday.

Byd continues to rise

The latest release follows the year this Shenzhen company has become a banner. Byd has set an ambitious goal among China's top automakers to increase its sales outside China to 800,000 vehicles by 2025.

According to Reuters, BYD plans to maintain its cost advantage by assembling vehicles in the local market.

Last year, the European Union's tax burden on China's EV imports was an unfair subsidy in the Chinese market. Last year, the 100% tariff imposed by the former Biden administration effectively banned Chinese competitors from entering the U.S. market, even before Washington and Beijing were locked in the current trade war.

This year has seen a lot of progress for the company, accounting for about one-third of China's electric vehicle sales last year, including hybrids.

In February, Byd launched the Eye of God, an advanced driver-assistance system that rivals Tesla's full self-driving capabilities, which is at no extra cost to most cars in China. Last month, the company launched a battery charging technology that added 250 miles of range in five minutes, surpassing Tesla's supercharger, which took 15 minutes to add 200 miles.

However, the speed and competitiveness of the Chinese market this week are underlined, but when China's Contemporary Ampere Technology (CATL) is the world's largest producer of electric vehicle batteries, it announced an upgraded battery that it said is expected to be 320 miles longer than rival Byd's cutting-edge technology.

BYD reported sales surged 60% in the first quarter of this year, with sales of more than one million new capabilities in the first three months of 2025, including battery-powered cars, hybrids and commercial vehicles.

The company's 2024 sales were $100 billion, 29% of sales compared to the previous year, including 4.27 million cars, including hybrids. By comparison, Tesla's revenue in 2024 was $97.7 billion and provided 1.79 million battery-powered vehicles. Last year's annual delivery fell by 1.1% for the first time.

According to data from the China Bus Association, Tesla has a market share of 6.1% in the domestic market. Byd can use both battery-powered cars and hybrid cars, while Tesla only makes all-electric cars powered by batteries. Its battery-powered 1.76 million cars have far less electric cargo than Tesla's.

John Liu and Hassan Tayir of CNN contributed the report.

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