Articles by Andrew Chesterton

Australia's increasingly crowded people-mover segment has welcomed another new entrant, with the Denza D9 locked in to take on the GAC M8, Zeekr 009, XPeng X9 and Lexus LM.The third model in Denza's Australian line-up – joining the B5 and B8 4WD SUVs – the D9 starts at $85,990 before on-road costs for the FWD variant, and steps to $95,990 for the AWD.It's the third in what Denza promises will be a five-model line-up in Australia by early 2027.Both D9 models are electric and both share a significant 103.3kWh 'Blade' battery. The FWD makes use of a front-mounted electric motor producing 230kW and 360Nm. The AWD then adds a second rear-mounted electric motor, increasing total outputs to 275kW and 470Nm.The big battery means solid driving range, with the AWD returning 480kms on the WLTP cycle, and the FWD delivering 520kms. When it comes time to plug in, the D9 is set up for 200kW DC fast charging, 11kW AC charging, and arrives with a vehicle-to-load (V2L) connection.Inside, there's three rows of seating for a total of seven passengers, with the two chairs up front joined by two captain’s chairs in the second row. At the back, there are three seats in a bench layout.Second-row passengers get massaging seats and Denza is promising space aplenty no matter where you sit, with more than 900mm of legroom even in the third row.Tech in the cabin is strong too, with a 15.6-inch infotainment screen, a second 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a third 12.0-inch head-up display. A 14-speaker stereo provides the audio, and a fun touch is the on-board fridge, which doubles as a hotbox, and can be chilled to -6 degrees celsius, or warmed to 50 degrees celsius.Denza concedes the D9 won't produce masses of volume for the brand in Australia, but insists the model will do its part in establishing BYD's premium arm in our market.“We’re introducing a new standard of practical luxury," says Denza Australia COO, Mark Harland.“The Denza D9 offers all occupants first-class comfort, advanced technology, and everyday usability without compromise."

Hyundai's new ute promises to be unlike anything we've seen in Australia to date, and the result of 15 years of careful plotting and planning to dethrone the kings of Australia's dual-cab segment.

Denza is planning a new-model attack in Australia that will see five Denza-badged models rolling on Australian roads by early 2027, with one of the model's still billed as a "mystery".We have a fairly solid idea of four of those models – including the B5 and B8, obviously, as well as the expected introduction of the Z9 GT shooting brake, and the D9 electric people mover.But the fifth model remains something of a mystery, so we have done some detective work.Denza Australia Chief Operating Officer, Mark Harland told CarsGuide: "There may be a fifth, but the fifth may or may not make it by the end of the year."The fifth one is probably 12 to 18 months (away) at the most."Typically, Denza export vehicles are launched in China first, before being rolled out in right-hand drive about 12 months later. That suggests our mystery vehicle is either on sale in China, or just about to be. One alluring option would be the new Mei-7 or Mei-9 Sedan, the former of which will launch in China shortly. Details remain under wraps for now, but international reports suggest it will offer a version of the Z9's ballistic EV and PHEV powertrains.In the Z9, the EV version is powered by a single electric motor producing 370kW, or offered as a tri-motor monster producing a combined 850kW. A plug-in hybrid variant also makes use of three electric motors, only this time paired with a 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid, promising 600-plus kilowatts and an all-electric driving range of around 300kms on the WLTP cycle.Neither the Mei-7 or Mei-9 are currently confirmed for Australia, but Denza here is confident it can access any international models it wishes."I just don't want to overpromise, overcommit. If I took too many cars too quickly without having a dealer network set up, I would get myself in trouble because we wouldn't have the ability to deliver and service all the cars," Mr Harland says.Stay tuned for more as the brand continues to plot an aggressive roll-out as part of an emerging Chinese premium trend, which also includes its primary rival in Australia, Geely's Zeekr.

This is a big moment for Hyundai's EV ambitions, with the brand introducing its first China-built model, the Elexio mid-size SUV, to essentially tackle the rise of models like the BYD Sealion 7. We put the one available trim level, the Elexio Elite, to the test at its Australian launch to see how it measures up.

Denza in Australia is targeting a potential launch of the stunning Z9 GT wagon/shooting brake, with new specifications also revealed for BYD's answer to the Porsche Taycan.In exciting news for Australia, the model is squarely on the brand's radar locally, with right-hand-drive production confirmed. While not officially locked in for our market, the Denza Z9 GT is firming as one of the five models the brand wants to launch in our market by early 2027."If you look to Europe, they have launched the Z9 GT, and that will be available in right-hand drive as well," says Denza Australia COO, Mark Harland."We haven't confirmed that, but that is one of the cars that is available to me within the next 12 months. And that's a car where if we go 'we see some volume in Australia', which I think there is, then that's definitely the car that I can get here."You heard the man, folks. Start banging desks and harassing Denza dealers, because the Z9 GT looks like a monster.According to new reports out of China, an updated model will enter production in March this year, introducing a new Fjord Green hue, a Lava Red interior treatment, and the shifting of the LIDAR array to the roof. Elsewhere, the Z9 GT is offered with two powertrain options; a plug-in hybrid setup and a full BEV electric model.The numbers are staggering: The full EV will be reportedly offered with two battery sizes – 102kWh or 122kWh – with a claimed driving range in excess of 1000kms, albeit on the more lenient CLTC testing cycle. Meanwhile, the plug-in hybrid promises to redefine pure EV driving range, too, with the brand claiming more than 300km of pure on the WLTC cycle.The EV version appears to be offered with a single electric motor, producing 370kw, as well as a fire-breathing tri-motor version producing a total 850kW, though how much of that power (taken from each motor's maximum output of 230kW, 310kW and 310kW) will be available at once is unclear.The plug-in hybrid variant also makes use of three electric motors, only this time paired with a 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid. It's unclear whether this update changed the outputs, but the earlier version produced around 685kW – enough to complete the sprint to 100km/h in well under four seconds.Stay tuned for more on both BYD's top-three aspirations by the end of 2026, and the expansion of its Denza luxury arm's line-up.

Hyundai says Australian consumers will see value in paying more for its Elexio than they would for a BYD Sealion 7, suggesting the marginal increase in a weekly novated lease cost is countered by its heritage and dealer network.That's the word from Hyundai COO, Gavin Donaldson, who told CarsGuide that Hyundai's footprint in Australia justified the price jump from a BYD Sealion 7 into an Elexio, with both electric SUVs being sourced from China.According to Hyundai's data, approximate weekly novated lease costs for the Elexio Elite are around $205 per week, compared to around $200 for the entry-level Sealion 7. The brand's data also has the Tesla Model Y at $216 per week, the Kia EV5 at $204 per week, and the Xpeng G6 at $199.That $5 per week, or $260 per year, is easy to "justify", says Mr Donaldson."I would hope that the infrastructure of the Hyundai dealer network across Australia would justify that. I would hope that, anywhere across the country, if you're driving a Hyundai EV, that you know you have the support of a network that has been in the country for 50 years."We are a legacy brand in Australia. We have been here for 40 years. As you said earlier, we've been involved in creating EVs for 35 years. I have to believe that the service and the background of your dealer network provides you with a benefit."Novated leasing does close the RRP gap between the Elexio and the Sealion 7. The Hyundai model launches with the top-spec elite, which lists at $61,990 but is being offered at $59,990 drive-away until around the end of March. It will be joined in Q2 by an entry-level model which will list at $58,990.The Sealion 7 lists at $54,990, and then steps up to the $63,990 for the Performance model.Both models are sourced from China, with the Elexio produced in a factory Hyundai describes as its most advanced in the world. In China, the Elexio's starting price converts to around $30,000, but the brand is quick to point out that cross-country prices never correlate to local pricing."Doing these cross-country price comparisons don't apply to any manufacturer in the market right now," says Hyundai's Product Planning Assistant Manager, Ronald Yuwono."We think that the price we've got here is quite compelling."

Hyundai has confirmed a new and cheaper variant of its Elexio electric mid-sized SUV will soon arrive in Australia to better combat the wave of cut-price Chinese electric vehicles in market.

BYD and Denza plan to have "game-changing" megawatt charging technology in Australia within the next 12 to 18 months that will see its EV family recharged in the same time it takes to fill a petrol or diesel vehicle with fuel.A megwatt, or 1000kW charger, is more than twice as powerful as the most common super-fast charger in Australia, which are usually capped at 350kW or less. BYD's vision is to equip its megawatt chargers with a sizeable battery buffer which is constantly trickle charged, either via solar or electricity, lessening the impact on the grid.The vision is to have a charging solution that can deliver up to 500km of driving range in just five minutes, putting EVs roughly on par with ICE vehicles.Denza COO Mark Harland says he sees megawatt charging as a point of difference between BYD and Denza and the rest of Australia's EV fleet."It’s something we think can be a real game-changer to the industry, when someone can go for 400 or 500kms in the same time you would fill up at a bowser. They're doing the testing in China to understand the impact on the grid, but they want to back it with a battery, so you’re not drawing off the grid," Harland says."It just seems like it's really well thought out, and when you get that battery to support it it can be a game-changer. I can tell you that once the testing is done in China, we’re going to be looking at it."We need to make sure we’re selling the cars in Australia that can take that kind of charge. Those platforms exist."We’re not talking years away. We're talking maybe 12 to 18 months away from having that capability. Then it's making sure I have cars on the ground that are capable of doing it. That’s what I’m targeting."The platform in question is the brand's Super e-Platform, which runs a 1000-volt architecture, and is capable of a peak charging speed of two kilometres per second.

A new Chinese brand says it is off to the "perfect start" in Australia, with executives confirming its earliest customers are trading in Toyota LandCruisers and Prados, Lexus GX and LX and Range Rovers to climb into their vehicles.That brand is BYD's premium arm Denza, which has just arrived in Australia with the B5 and B8 off-road-focused SUVs, sized to compete head-on with the ladder-frame SUVs from Toyota and Lexus, as well as monocoque offerings from Range Rover, BMW and Audi.And, so says the brand's new COO Mark Harland, that's precisely what's occurring, with the executive declaring the brand's launch in Australia is off to a "perfect start"."I believe we have the luxury, the technology, the off-road capability to compete with any SUV,” Harland said. "And we’ve priced (the B5 and B8) so we can (interest) people that are looking at the very ultra-luxury premium price points, but also people that are looking to stretch their budget a little bit."When I look at the cars that are being traded in early… it’s everything from Range Rovers to LandCruisers, Prados, Audis, BMWs - we’re seeing quite a range. And if I could have imagined a perfect start, this is it."Mr Harland says others not trading in cars are burning deposits with other car companies to get into a Denza, with the executive assuring that he can request as many vehicles as he wants from his Chinese HQ and have them in Australia in weeks, not months. And that, he says, has fuelled aspirations for Denza to climb to the top of the premium podium in Australia. "If someone said 'I want 1000 B8s' so we had pre-orders for 1000 B8s, I could put a call into the factory today and know that they would be on a boat, on their way here," he says."In most cases, it's six-to-eight weeks from the time that I ask the factory for the order to the time they're being delivered to the customer."So getting in the top three-to-five, I think is certainly achievable. When could I knock off Mercedes and BMW? That's probably a little further into the future, but yes, there'd be a mission to do that down the track. But I don't want to get ahead of myself."It's worth pointing out that Denza has sold almost 2000 vehicles at the time of publishing, so there is still a mountain climb to reach anywhere near the 26,000 units of the LandCruiser (across all styles) that Toyota managed in 2025 – or the more than 14,000 sales Lexus managed last year across its models – but Denza says it recognises the challenges."We've got to build this out properly and bring the right cars in. So, I think we're starting in segments that are really important and have high volume. I think that's important," Mr Harland says.

The new COO of BYD premium brand Denza says Holden could have pioneered the sale of Chinese vehicles in Australia, but executives were convinced Australians would never buy Chinese vehicles.