BYD's Denza Z9 GT begins 9,300-mile Rome-to-Hong Kong
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- BYD launched the "Marco Polo Drive," a 43-day, over 9,300-mile (15,000 km) trip from Rome to Hong Kong, with Professor Jeffrey Sachs and M31 Capital's Patrick Zhong driving the Denza Z9 GT to showcase EV long-distance viability.
- Denza Z9 GT is powered by a 122.49 kWh Blade Battery with a CLTC range of up to 643 miles (372 miles WLTP) and Flash Charging that takes the battery from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes and to 97% in 9 minutes.
- Denza Z9 GT's electric variant uses three motors producing 1,140 hp combined, hitting 0-62 mph in 2.7 seconds, and features a 17.3" central touchscreen, 50" AR head-up display, and BYD's DiLink cockpit with Google built in.
- BYD opened European orders for the Denza Z9 GT in April starting at €115,000 ($134,500), initially in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK, with expansion to 30 countries planned by end of 2026.
- BYD opened its first Flash Charging station in Italy over the launch weekend and plans to deploy 3,000 Flash Chargers across Europe and 300 in the UK by year's end.
- Stella Li, BYD's executive vice president, framed the trip as a modern echo of Marco Polo's East-West exchange, noting that Sachs and Zhong can now "drive an electric car all the way from Europe to Asia."
Why it matters: BYD is using a 43-day publicity stunt to seed its premium Denza sub-brand into Europe's luxury EV market at €115,000 — and backing it with 3,300 Flash Chargers across Europe and the UK by year-end. The Denza Z9 GT's 9-minute near-full charge and 643-mile range are direct counters to European buyer anxieties about EV road-trip feasibility.
