Denza’s big plans down under

Denza hopes to at least double the number of dealerships it has in New Zealand by the end of the year as it targets disrupting the premium car market on both sides of the Tasman.

Mark Harland, the brand’s chief operating officer for New Zealand and Australia, has detailed plans to build its dealer network and increase the availability of its new energy vehicles down under.

“We have four or five dealers in Australia at the moment, and I would like to have that get to 20 by the end of the year, as well as four or five in New Zealand,” he told GoAuto.com.au. 

“But we want to make sure we have the right dealers in the right location so that we can offer the sales and service capabilities our customers need from day one.” 

Denza launched here in November last year and currently has two stores in Auckland, one in Newmarket and another in East Tamaki, which offer the Chinese brand’s B5 and B8 models.

Harland, pictured, adds the company has big ambitions for its first year in the southern hemisphere and wants to be “mixing it up with the top five premium brands” such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus.

His comments to GoAuto.com.au came at the launch of the B5 and B8, both plug-in hybrid (PHEV) off-roaders, in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. 

He explains Denza, which is a subsidiary of the BYD Company, aims to ultimately offer more diverse vehicles than its rivals. 

“While a lot of us drive our SUVs in capital cities like Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, we want to offer vehicles that can do more than that – vehicles that can tackle anything that Australia and New Zealand have to throw at us,” he adds.