During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday just past, all the most noteworthy news in China's car circle is believed to be BYD's complete "eating" of Denza.
According to relevant news, Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. has undergone a change in equity, BYD Automobile Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of BYD, has increased its shareholding from 90% to 100%, and the subscription amount has risen from 6.984 billion yuan to 7.760 billion yuan.
Correspondingly, Mercedes-Benz (China) Investment Co., Ltd., which originally held 10% of the shares, completely withdrew. In terms of board seats, Hans Georg Engel, former director and senior executive vice president of Mercedes-Benz (China) Investment Co., Ltd., resigned.
So far, it can be said that after 14 years of ups and downs, DENZA has officially transformed from a joint venture brand empowered by BYD and Mercedes-Benz into a pure independent brand.
Of course, as the saying goes, "Every piece of the past has a meaning for its existence." ”
Let's first bring back the memory to 2010, when the discourse power of China's automobile industry was firmly occupied by foreign car companies.
At that time, the young BYD chose to "join hands" with Mercedes-Benz and jointly established Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co., Ltd., with both parties holding 50% of the shares.
DENZA has naturally become the first joint venture brand focusing on the new energy track in China.
Soon, the time came to 2014, through the joint efforts of both parties, as well as continuous precipitation and development, the brand's first pure electric model, located at the Beijing Auto Show, the world premiere, and in October of the same year officially launched.
DENZA handed over his first answer sheet.
However, looking at the entire market, China's new energy market at that time could only be described as chaotic, and the consumption structure showed a very deformed "saddle-shaped" distribution.
Denza, which happened to be sandwiched in the middle, was in a very awkward situation. In the next few years, although there were occasional bright spots, there was no big splash overall.
Fortunately, the hard work pays off, and 2021 is enough to be called the first year of the take-off of "China's new energy vehicles", no matter from the cumulative sales of the entire market, the cognitive maturity of terminal potential customers, or the transformation of consumption structure, there have been more and more positive changes.
Taking this opportunity, after a long period of thinking, BYD and Mercedes-Benz once again jointly announced that they plan to increase their capital by 1 billion yuan respectively.
It is particularly noteworthy that the two parties have also adjusted the shareholding structure of DENZA from the original 50%:50% to 90%:10%.
It's clear who will lead and who will assist.
The next plot is more well-known. Closely following the brand positioning of "New Luxury", BYD has spent huge manpower, material and financial resources to carry out all-round reforms in terms of technology, products, channels and marketing.
Eventually, after the renewal, DENZA was able to gain a firm foothold in China's new energy market.
Now, with the last 10% of the equity in BYD's pocket, DENZA has undoubtedly turned a new page. The protagonist of today's article is destined to further concentrate superior resources and run desperately with a more ferocious attitude and efficiency.
In the next article, I would like to talk about some of my views rationally and objectively.
First of all, Mercedes-Benz's "exit" is more like a good gathering and dispersal, which can be regarded as a more qualified fulfillment of its mission, providing DENZA with a model for building a high-end brand.
With the momentum that BYD is currently showing and the weight of its position in China's new energy market, it can completely provoke the pillar of DENZA on its own.
Of course, the player, who has long regarded himself as a "global leader in new energy vehicles", still wisely chose to leave a "breath", saying that he would not rule out cooperating with Mercedes-Benz again in other sections.
The implication is, "In the future, anything is possible." ”
Secondly, in terms of terminal sales alone, BYD, which is charging towards 3.6 million or even 4 million units for the whole year, has gradually become unstoppable.
It's just that in the market segment below 200,000 yuan, it used an almost "saturated" attack, relying on the destruction of the dynasty network and the ocean network, and ate the largest piece of "cake".
However, in the market segment of more than 200,000 yuan, even if you hold the three "hole cards" of Denza, Equation Leopard and Yangwang at the same time, the effect of upward development so far is still far from being as stormy as imagined.
Compared with the equation leopard, which focuses on personalization and specialization, and the look up to the ultra-luxury sector, Denza, which has stepped into the mainstream luxury track, seems to shoulder more responsibilities of "connecting the upper and lower levels".
BYD clearly knows that "it must not be lost." ”
After all, trying to become a "giant" in the real sense of the industry, you must improve your gold content and prove yourself in the market of more than 200,000 yuan.
This time it completely "eats" Denza, in fact, BYD is also showing a strong signal to the outside world, "I'm going to start getting serious, I'm going to start exerting force." ”
Moreover, it is not alarmist, and DENZA is in no way qualified to take it lightly.
Although judging from the data, there are many bright spots since the brand renewal. A total of 9,989 new vehicles were sold in the past eight months, bringing the total number of new vehicles sold in 2024 to 79,894. On the other hand, the D9 has achieved more than 200,000 units in cumulative sales since its delivery, making it the fastest new energy luxury MPV to achieve this achievement.
But looking deeper, in all fairness, in addition to D9, its product matrix lacks another strong fulcrum shortcomings, which have been clearly placed in front of Denza. The N8 has almost slowly retired from the stage, and the all-new N7 is struggling in the "red sea" of mid-level electric SUVs.
In order to rush high and impulse, DENZA had to find a way to break the game. To put it more bluntly, referring to the development history of BBA, selling sedans and SUVs well is a sign that a brand is in the luxury market and has a firm foothold in the true sense.
Because of this, on September 20, Beijing time, the Z9GT, which will be launched and announced in price, will be a key battle for Denza in the near future.
Yes, the above problems will be solved; No, the troubles and challenges will intensify.
Of course, it is foreseeable that the contribution of the next sedan version of the Z9, as well as the N9 that benchmarks the ideal L9 and the M9 and constantly has spy photos, are also indispensable.
In short, this year's DENZA has entered a new cycle that will determine its future development. From MPVs, to sedans, to SUVs, every segment needs a strong fulcrum.
And with being completely "eaten" by BYD, whether it can write a more colorful stroke on the new page opened, let us see while walking.