
BYD unveils new luxury sports car as carmakers vie for attention at China’s largest auto show
CNN
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has already beaten out long-standing frontrunner Tesla in sales of electrified vehicles. And now it’s coming for luxury sports cars.
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has already beaten out long-standing frontrunner Tesla in sales of electrified vehicles. And now it’s coming for luxury sports cars. BYD’s premium Denza line on Wednesday unveiled the Z, a flashy new deep-blue model that points to the company’s ambitions to rival higher-end Western brands such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. The launch came at the opening of Auto Shanghai, China’s largest automobile show – which has drawn dozens of domestic and foreign carmakers, as well as crowds of journalists, to a sprawling exhibition center in the country’s financial hub. Ahead of its unveiling, the Denza Z sat shrouded in a black cover on the display floor. Flanked by an entourage, Wang Chuanfu, BYD’s founder and one of the country’s most celebrated entrepreneurs, was seen at the display. Carmakers jockeyed for attention with flashy displays featuring their latest models and dueling press conferences announcing new releases. The 10-day gathering shines a spotlight on the technological prowess of China’s booming and cutthroat electric vehicle (EV) sector, which has shocked Western rivals not just with the speed of its innovation and growth, but also the quality of its value offerings. As the global auto industry is roiled by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on car imports to the United States, China’s EV sector has become a hot spot — with global brands seeking opportunities to recalibrate strategies, including enhancing partnerships, to try to regain their former dominant position in the world’s largest car market.