Electric minivan Denza D9 left no chance for Toyota Alphard

Coming up with a sonorous and memorable name for your brand is a great marketing ploy. In the countries of the East, this technique has been perfected, practically, to perfection. It is not uncommon to find models named after famous mountain peaks or famous historical events. For example, a relatively new joint Chinese project was ambitiously named "Build Your Dreams" with the English abbreviation BYD Co Ltd. It appeared 27 years ago in Shenzhen, China.


The company positioned itself as a full-cycle production, that is, it meant its own development, implementation and development of the brand. Ideally, the output was expected to be a four-wheeled product, corresponding to the best examples of the world level. The further goal was considered to be the revival of the Chinese automobile industry as an industry and the formation of a national automobile brand of the highest class.



Today, the company has already established production bases in four major cities across the country. It seems that the dreams of the creators are gradually coming true, because the total production of cars 6 years ago exceeded half a million a year. Next in line was a new goal - the conquest of the electric transport market.

Sino-German Denza

More than 10 years have passed since the creation of a promising project jointly with the German company Daimler. But, so far, the brand has not been able to bring it to the desired level. The pragmatic Germans were even disappointed and reduced their share in the project from half to a tenth. Now the company has turned its eyes to a sought-after segment of the market - luxury monocabs. The direction seems so promising that several Chinese manufacturers at once, including the well-known Geely, are preparing to offer their models of cars of this type.



There will be five of them in total, although further development, of course, will depend on the success or failure of the above model. Pre-sales have already started in the country of origin, which, as the creators hope, will be able to stir up consumer interest in the new product not only in the Chinese market, but also abroad.

Although the author of the project is considered to be a joint German-Chinese venture, given the chilled interest of the former, we will deal with almost entirely Chinese development. Moreover, this will concern not only the technical part, but also the design of the exterior. Therefore, it is not surprising that the usual plate “Styled by Mercedes-Benz” is absent on the body of the car.



The car will be available in two versions: fully electric and hybrid. This is done in accordance with the spirit of the times, because electric vehicles are the future, although we are still living in a transitional period. There is no doubt that both modifications will find their fans quite easily.

7-seater Chinese minivan

The appearance of a promising minivan has not been a subject of excitement for a long time. After all, it was shown to the general public last month. The only thing that surprised many is that the hybrid and electric version will be quite difficult to confuse. The front part of them is completely different due to differences in the design of the radiator grille. If the pseudo-lattice has vertical lamellas, then the real one, installed on the hybrid, received several additional cells.

But those wishing to look inside were asked to wait a bit. As it turned out, not for long. Less than a month later, on the eve of the local pre-sale, it became possible to see the interior and compare it in different modifications and interior designs.

Denza D9 - inside view

The interior arrangement of the minivan does not look like a budget at all. Nice decor here is adjacent to a panoramic roof and a salon well stuffed with electronics. For example, there are six monitors alone (only one of them does not have touch controls) and they are designed not only for the driver, but also for passengers:

✅ 15,6-inch screen with information about the status of on-board functions
✅ 10,25 inch virtual dashboard monitor
✅ 13" entertainment tablets for second row passengers

The latest screens are built into the front row seats, but the remaining monitors are available only for the premium layout. They will be small touch screens designed for the convenience of passengers in the last row. Sitting there will be able to individually adjust the footrest, ventilation or heating according to their wishes. They even offer massages! Although there is no officially confirmed data on the complete list of technical equipment yet, therefore, we have to rely on the meager information that has leaked to us and hope that it is as close to reality as possible.



The interior is full of other nice bonuses. These are the original air duct deflectors and multi-circuit second-row seats with electronic adjustment. Additional comfort inside the car will be created by contour lighting and a multifunctional steering wheel.

High cabin capacity was achieved thanks to a technique that was tested back in the 80s on Chinese experimental MPVs. These are three-row seats. They are distributed according to the 2+2+3 principle. In general, the first two rows are comfortable individual chairs, and the third row is a three-seater sofa.

Even in the classic version, leather seat trim is provided, and in the premium version, thin semi-aniline leather (nappa) and pseudo-wooden inserts will be used. Additional glamor of the top version will be given by the presence of two-layer glasses, matrix LED lighting devices and a Dynaudio sound system.

Power plant and external dimensions

Those who were lucky enough to see the appearance of the novelty noticed its significant similarity with the Toyota Alphard. True, Denza D9 is slightly larger:

✅ length - 5 250 mm
✅ width - 1 960 mm
✅ height - 1 mm

The minivan will also have an impressive base - 3110 mm. Tire diameter is planned to be installed in two types: 18 inches (for the classic version) and 19 inches (for the top version). The power unit will be a turbocharged 1,5-liter, with a capacity of 139 hp.



On an electric drive, the Denza D9 will be able to travel about 600 km without recharging, and in the combined version, almost a thousand. Such excellent results were achieved due to the fact that the engine can act as a charging generator for an electrical installation, extending the autonomy of its use by almost half.

Issue price and comparison with direct competitor Toyota Alphard

As mentioned above, Denza D9 will compete in the automotive market with some other models in this class, including the Toyota Alphard. Perhaps it will not be so difficult, because the Japanese minivan has been on the assembly line for 20 years. And, despite the predominant orientation of production for the domestic market, it is noticeably represented in other countries, among which are Russia and Belarus. In the current year, its price is 7,759 million rubles. It is fixed, so the final cost will depend only on the chosen configuration of the car.



On the contrary, the Chinese car will be offered at a price more than half as low - 3,6 million rubles, and a hybrid - a little lower. Even the premium version, which is planned to be released in a limited edition of 99 pieces, will be sold at a price of 6,1 million rubles. Let's wait until the end of the summer (at that time Denza D9 is scheduled to start mass sales) and see how the theoretical conclusions will show themselves in practice.