Denza is the latest Chinese car brand to launch in Australia, and a top local company executive claims its debut off-road SUV duo is already luring people from some of Australia’s most popular models.
Denza is owned by BYD and has been described as BYD’s luxury brand for export markets, despite the existence of several sister brands. Therefore, it is easiest to compare the relationship between Denza and BYD with that between Lexus and Toyota.
Importantly, Denza has ambitions to become one of the top five luxury car brands locally.
Denza Australia chief operating officer Mark Harland said at the launch of the B5 and B8 large plug-in hybrid SUVs (PHEVs) that initial orders included trade-ins on a wide range of vehicles from both mainstream and premium brands – including Toyota, Lexus, Audi, BMW and Range Rover.
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“In speaking to dealers in Melbourne and Sydney last week… the cars being traded are Prados, LandCruisers of various generations, Audis – Q7 and Q8 – BMW X5s and some Range Rovers,” Mr Harland said Daily Sparkz at the Australian launch of Denza.
“(That’s) nice to hear for me; that’s music to my ears because that’s kind of the range. Our price is very similar to a Prado, which is a Toyota, so not really luxurious. (For similar money) you would actually look at Lexus from a luxury perspective – the LX or GX and then Range Rover.”
In fact, the prices for the B5 and B8 are both models directly based on Australia’s robust SUV stars. The B5, which costs either $74,990 or $79,990 before on-road depending on the variant, is aimed squarely at the Prado, which starts at $73,200 and goes up to $100,690 on-road.
The closely related Lexus GX is also a key competitor thanks to its more luxurious positioning. The large premium off-road SUV starts at $118,320 before on-road availability. So it’s clear that Denza aims to give the Lexus a level of luxury for the Toyota money.
The B5’s angular styling cues and boxy proportions are also reminiscent of its Toyota/Lexus siblings, although it comes with a significantly more powerful PHEV powertrain and, for the top-spec Leopard, the advanced DiSus-P hydraulic suspension – in addition to the requisite off-road equipment such as four-wheel drive and a limited-slip rear differential.
The B8 is now more of a competitor to the larger LandCruiser 300 series, although its flagship variant is cheaper than all versions of the Toyota. The same applies to the more luxurious Lexus LX.
Of course, this also means that Denza’s SUVs are cheaper than the large, road-focused SUVs from Audi and BMW, as well as similarly positioned Defender models and Range Rover offerings.
“We’re really happy with the cars that customers are bringing in. We’re attracting those segments,” Mr Harland added. “These are the people we also address for B5 and B8.”
Still, Denza has a mountain to climb if it wants to overtake the world’s largest automaker in the sales charts.
The Chinese brand has not yet announced its local sales figures, but the Prado found 1,392 buyers in January 2026, while the LC300 recorded 907 registrations, the GX attracted 72 customers and the LX recorded 38 sales.
In January, sales of large European luxury SUVs were led by BMW X5/X6 (406), Mercedes-Benz GLE (244), Porsche Cayenne (180), Defender (121), Audi Q7/Q8 (151) and Range Rover Sport (105).
Denza will support the launch of its new model with a concerted effort to expand its local retail network. It says the company will expand from five to 12 dealers in the coming months and will certify select BYD dealers to service Denza vehicles.
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