Daimler’s China-only Denza brand reveals first concept

[Human]

In May of 2010, Daimler and China’s BYD formed a joint-venture called Denza in order to produce electric vehicles for the Chinese market.











The two partners have taken the sheet off their first creation at the Beijing Motor Show. It is a concept car called New Energy Vehicle, or NEV.Mercedes-Benz'S Chinese arm developed the car’s platform, which is an evolution of the last-generation B-Class’ platform. The company also worked to ensure that the NEV is built to Mercedes standards.The NEV is powered by an electric motor that gets electricity from a lithium-ion battery. It is mounted under the car’s floor in order to free up as much interior space as possible. BYD has a lot of experience in the field of batteries: before building cars, it specialized in manufacturing cell phone batteries for Nokia and Motorola, among others. Technical details about the NEV were not released.

Aesthetically, it is hard to tell that the NEV is based on the B-Class. It wears a modern face with three rows of lights and a chrome grille that proudly features the new Denza logo. The rear doors open in a suicide fashion, which is an indication that despite its B-Class roots, the NEV is aimed at the top end of the EV market. The dashboard is futuristic and simple. The commands typically found in the center console have been grouped in a touch screen, and there is a single digital gauge behind the steering wheel. Two more touch screens are mounted on the front seatbacks, which allows the passengers sitting in the rear to browse the internet on the go. Denza fitted cameras in lieu of rear view mirrors. They transmit images to three screens mounted where the inside mirror is usually found. 200 engineers from both Mercedes-Benz and BYD are working in Shenzhen, China, to develop the production version of the NEV. If all goes as planned, it will be available in showrooms throughout China sometime next year.
At the time of writing, Denza does not plan on selling the car outside of China.

SOURCE + MORE PHOTO'S: http://www.leftlanenews.com/photos/denza-nev-picture-12.html#overlayContent

 

[Centurion]

Does look great but it if will sell then I give Mercedes my blessings. Just to give you an idea how big of a goldmine China is, Apple's Q2 revenue in China was $7.9 billion.


Yes, that's $7.9 billion in revenue in just three months from one single country.

 

[Human]

Does look great but it if will sell then I give Mercedes my blessings. Just to give you an idea how big of a goldmine China is, Apple's Q2 revenue in China was $7.9 billion.
Yes, that's $7.9 billion in revenue in just three months from one single country.

My goodness! Now that's what you'd call a sh!t load of money and such a short time!

 

[Centurion]

My goodness! Now that's what you'd call a sh!t load of money and such a short time!

1.2 Billion people. It's massive market.

 

[speed_kills]

It's a huge market but I doubt there are 1,2 billion consumers. The whole country isn't rich.
But China and India will be the next US for the European brands.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Excellent. The more money in Daimlers coffers, the better! And this way they can do all sorts of whacky things exclusively for the chinese market, without using the Benz name.

There's the C-class crease along the flanks, but other than that I don't see any other Benz styling cues.

 

[Centurion]

It's a huge market but I doubt there are 1,2 billion consumers. The whole country isn't rich.

You're right but that doesn't matter since the Chinese middle class is approximately 300 million and is on course to being about 700 million in 2020, that's the US and Western Europe combined. On top of that we have India, Russia and Brazil.

 

[speed_kills]

Yes. India and China will surpass the US by then, in terms of premium vehicles.

 

[Human]

Excellent. The more money in Daimlers coffers, the better! And this way they can do all sorts of whacky things exclusively for the chinese market, without using the Benz name.

There's the C-class crease along the flanks, but other than that I don't see any other Benz styling cues.

This could indeed prove to add a lot to Daimler's cash flow.

 

[K-A]

Excellent. The more money in Daimlers coffers, the better! And this way they can do all sorts of whacky things exclusively for the chinese market, without using the Benz name.

There's the C-class crease along the flanks, but other than that I don't see any other Benz styling cues.

Agreed. I'd love to see them continue this and not whore out the Benz name.