Denza, you can't let us down anymore.

The departure of Zhao Changjiang, the former general manager of the Denza Sales Division, has sparked a lot of discussions, but the spotlight of public opinion has quickly shifted to the future of Denza. Facing the fierce competition among car - makers, how will Li Hui, the new general manager, lead the brand to break through? Can the newly launched Denza N8L become the next hit after the D9?

01

Is Denza about to produce another hit?

On October 28th, four days after Zhao Changjiang, the former helmsman of Denza, officially announced his departure, the Denza N8L was launched. Following the Denza N9, this is another six - seat large SUV launched by the brand. This time, the Denza N8L lineup is quite streamlined, with only two models available: the Honor Edition and the Flagship Edition. The official launch prices are 299,800 yuan and 329,800 yuan respectively, both 20,000 yuan lower than the pre - sale prices.

Denza expanded its server capacity by 10 times in advance, but the reservation system still crashed for 20 minutes. "We were ill - prepared. We should have expanded the server capacity by 20 times," said Li Hui, the current general manager of the Denza Sales Division. He didn't expect the Denza N8L to be so popular. He said that after the group interview at the press conference, he would immediately contact the factory and ask the production manager to implement a three - shift, 24 - hour work system to boost production capacity and deliver vehicles as soon as possible.

Although the official data on firm orders has not been released, in the view of some industry insiders, the price and configuration of the Denza N8L are quite competitive, showing the potential to become a hit.

For Denza at present, the crashing of the system is a good sign. After all, the last hit was the MPV model Denza D9, which was launched in 2022.

According to data from the Passenger Car Association, in 2023, the cumulative sales of the Denza D9 were nearly 120,000 units; in 2024, the cumulative sales exceeded 100,000 units, making it the sales champion in the MPV segment for two consecutive years. It not only established its influence in the MPV field but also became the mainstay of the entire Denza brand. In 2024, Denza sold about 126,000 new cars in total, of which the Denza D9 accounted for more than 80% of the sales.

You can't keep getting wool from one sheep or milk from one cow.

In addition to the Denza D9 and the newly launched N8L, the brand's current models on sale include: the mid - size SUV Denza N7 (with a guide price of 301,800 - 379,800 yuan), the mid - large sedan Denza Z9 GT (with a guide price of 334,800 - 414,800 yuan), the mid - large sedan Denza Z9 (with a guide price of 334,800 - 414,800 yuan), and the large SUV Denza N9 (with guide prices of 389,800 yuan and 449,800 yuan for its two models).

Specifically, the Denza N9, which was launched in March this year, had cumulative sales of over 10,000 units in the first three months, but from June to September, the monthly sales were less than 3,000 units. The Denza N7, launched in July 2023, was originally priced over 300,000 yuan. Since 2024, it has seen significant price cuts. The entry - level model is now priced below 250,000 yuan, and the starting price of the 2025 model is 259,800 yuan, making it the cheapest model in the Denza lineup. The Denza X, launched as early as 2019, and the mid - large SUV Denza N8, which has been on the market for only two years, have been discontinued. The next - generation N8 is in the planning stage.

The flagship product, the Denza D9, sold 74,906 units in the first nine months. Although it still ranked first in the MPV segment, its sales volume decreased by about 5.57% compared with the same period in 2024. In the first nine months of this year, Denza sold a total of 115,605 new cars, a year - on - year increase of 28.2%. There is still a certain gap from the annual sales target of 300,000 units set at the beginning of the year.

In the view of industry insiders, this is probably the direct reason for the departure of Zhao Changjiang, the youngest sales executive within BYD.

In July this year, during BYD's job rotation, Zhao Changjiang, the former general manager of the Denza Sales Division, swapped positions with Li Hui, the former general manager of the Fangchengbao Direct - sales Division.

The outside world generally regards Zhao Changjiang as the mastermind behind the phenomenal success of the Denza D9. However, according to Sun Qi, the success of the Denza D9 was "made by the times," largely due to the group's strategic layout and the opportunity to enter the untapped new - energy MPV market. "At that time, the core decision - making power still lay with the group. It was thanks to the hot sales of the D9 that Zhao Changjiang gradually gained the right to lead the development of subsequent products. However, the lackluster performance of subsequent models such as the Denza N7 and N8 exposed some weaknesses."

However, Wang Qin, an employee of BYD, believes that one should not deny an individual's contribution due to the development fluctuations of a single brand. In the early years, Zhao Changjiang was deeply involved in building BYD's "Dynasty Series" sales system, leading the market promotion and channel construction of core models such as the Tang, Song, and Yuan, and successfully turning them into hits in their respective segments. It can be said that Zhao Changjiang played an important role in laying the foundation for BYD's "Dynasty Series."

Zhao's departure has sparked a lot of discussions within BYD, but the spotlight of public opinion has quickly shifted to the future of Denza. Facing the fierce competition among car - makers, how will Denza break through and achieve high - end upgrading under Li Hui's leadership and create the next hit after the D9? The test has arrived.

02

What are the reasons for the sales slowdown?

To create another "Denza D9," we need to first analyze why the subsequent models of Denza have received mediocre responses.

Different from Yangwang, a million - level luxury brand, and Fangchengbao, which has a personalized positioning, Denza is one of BYD's three main high - end brands and a volume - driving brand that the group focuses on building.

In 2022, established models like the Buick GL8 and Toyota Sienna dominated the MPV market, and domestic brands were rare. Although the Voyah Dreamer was already on the market at that time, the market generally took a wait - and - see and skeptical attitude towards a domestic MPV priced at nearly 400,000 yuan.

After the launch of the Denza D9, its lowest - configured version was more than 30,000 yuan cheaper than the Voyah Dreamer, and the high - end version was more than 200,000 yuan cheaper. Coupled with the fact that the D9 features DM - i hybrid technology, it is a well - rounded vehicle in terms of space, comfort, technology, and luxury. It seized the opportunity during the transition period of traditional joint - venture brands to electrification and the key window when domestic brands had not yet formed a scale in the MPV market, and thus became an instant success.

The MPV market has limited volume, and Denza planned new models early on. After the launch of new models such as the Denza N7, N8, and Z9, each model was priced at no less than 300,000 yuan to match the high - end brand image. BYD even stuffed a large number of "black technologies" such as Yunlian and Yisangfang into Denza, hoping to conquer the market with "technological hegemony." However, the results were not satisfactory.

Looking at the entire market, most of Denza's current products are in the 300,000 - 400,000 yuan price range, which is a highly competitive segment in the domestic auto market. Denza not only has to face the siege of new - force brands such as Li Auto, AITO, and NIO but also guard against the rise of BBA.

Price is an important factor in determining the success or failure of a product. In the view of industry insiders, Denza's product strategy, which is dominated by "engineer thinking," also affects its understanding of high - end. At the 2024 shareholders' meeting, Wang Chuanfu, the chairman of BYD, admitted that the company has long been influenced by "engineer culture," over - emphasizing functional value while neglecting the deeper emotional value of users.

Moreover, the high overlap with sibling products also affects Denza's sales to some extent. For example, the Denza N8 is jokingly called the "luxury version with a different shell" of the 2022 Tang DM - p by netizens. Both are built on BYD's DM - p plug - in hybrid platform, with the same 1.5T plug - in hybrid power system, and are highly similar in terms of appearance design and core technology.

BYD's main brand launched the mid - large MPV "Xia" in January this year, with a price range of 249,800 - 309,800 yuan. In August, the mid - large MPV BYD M9 was launched, offering two models priced at 229,800 yuan and 249,800 yuan respectively. Its positioning is similar to that of the Denza D9, but the price is significantly lower, which also impacts the latter to some extent. However, some industry insiders familiar with BYD believe that this reason is rather limited.

What Wang Qin complains about the most is the internal management of the product line. In his view, to make way for Denza products, BYD's Tang and Han series voluntarily cut prices. Now, the newly launched Tang L and Han L are still priced between 200,000 and 300,000 yuan, but the terminal prices of some models are as low as about 160,000 yuan.

Wang Qin also mentioned that the complex structure and process of a large company are different from those of new - force brands, where decisions are directly made by the CEO. Zhao Changjiang was in the marketing department and lacked sufficient say in product R & D and design. He gave a small detail that shows the many helplessnesses in a large company.

"The resource development department determines the suppliers for material procurement, and then the procurement department compares prices according to the process. The problem is that when the production line actually uses the products, it finds that the quality of the products from the 'primary supplier' is poor and often receives complaints, so it needs to use the'secondary supplier' or 'tertiary supplier' to ensure production. However, the procurement department has already promised a certain share to the 'primary supplier'. Now, the production department does not recognize the products and refuses to use them, and the two sides are at a deadlock," said Wang Qin.

03

"A little later, a little slower"

Since taking office three months ago, Li Hui has been thinking about the future development of Denza and how to build a luxury brand.

His proposed solutions are as follows: First, build the entire system, including brand positioning, product design, marketing, service, and channels, around user needs. Second, fully polish the products. Third, high - end services must also keep up.

Li Hui said bluntly that to make a new car popular as soon as it is launched, the product must be perfected. "It doesn't matter if it takes a little longer to launch. The most important thing is to fully understand user needs."

Therefore, the performance of the Denza N8L is crucial.

It is reported that the entire Denza N8L lineup will still be equipped with technologies such as Yisangfang, Tian Shen Zhi Yan B, Yunlian - A, and blade batteries. Different from previous product promotions that focused on technology and emphasized luxury, the launch of the Denza N8L spent a lot of time introducing its safety features. Li Hui also said that about 80% of the target users are aged between 30 and 45, 75% are men, and more than 70% of the families have one or two children. This time, the Denza N8L is targeted at family users.

In addition to features like a refrigerator, a large - screen TV, and a comfortable sofa, the Denza N8L is equipped with the Tian Shen Zhi Yan B assisted - driving technology and one lidar, enabling functions such as urban navigation assistance, highway navigation assistance, and automatic parking, including passing through traffic lights, autonomous lane - changing, pedestrian yielding, and ETC passage. At the same time, the N8L can also perform automatic emergency braking at a speed of 120 km/h and 90 km/h at night.

Zhao Changjiang once said that the launch of the N8L marks that Denza will enter a new growth stage with monthly sales of 20,000 - 30,000 units. Judging from the popularity during the pre - order stage, this goal seems achievable.

Compared with models such as the AITO M8 Extended - range Edition (with a guide price of 369,800 - 449,800 yuan), the mid - large SUV Li L8 (with a guide price of 321,800 - 379,800 yuan), the large SUV Li L9 (with guide prices of 409,800 yuan and 439,800 yuan for its two models), and the Lynk & Co 900 (with a guide price of 309,900 - 416,900 yuan), the Denza N8L, with a starting price of less than 300,000 yuan, offers good value for money.

However, a question arises: Will the Denza N8L seize the market share of the Denza N9, which is also positioned as a six - seat large SUV? In September this year, the 2026 Denza N9 was launched, with an official guide price of 389,800 - 449,800 yuan. It is slightly larger than the N8L, and the two have almost the same appearance and are equipped