The competition between Denza and BBA is imminent.

A message posted by Zhao Changjiang, General Manager of Denza Sales Department, on a social media platform caught Xiaotong's attention.

To summarize Zhao Changjiang's message in one sentence, it's, "Thank you all for your attention, but we must hold accountable the media that leaked the information in advance; the leaked video quality is too poor, I will release the official interior tomorrow."

During this year's Beijing Auto Show, the Denza Z9GT made its real-car debut, and when Xiaotong saw the real car for the first time, they could indeed feel the elegance and uniqueness of the overall design, but how should the interior be designed to match the exterior styling? If the Denza Z9GT follows the current family design of the D9, N7, and N8, it would be reasonable, but a lack of freshness could create a sense of disappointment among consumers and could even be considered a waste of the Denza Z9GT's exterior design.

So, how should the interior of the Denza Z9GT be designed? From the official interior information released, how far can the product competitiveness of the Denza Z9GT go? Next, Xiaotong will explain it all at once.

The style remains unchanged, but the sense of luxury and ceremony is stronger

First, let's look at the overall interior style. Frankly speaking, compared to the Denza D9 and Denza N7, the Denza Z9GT does not have any changes in style. The new car still adopts a "T"-shaped center console layout, creating a sense of technology through a suspended central control screen, as well as the instrument panel and co-pilot screen on both sides. The infotainment system and UI design are consistent with other BYD models. However, in terms of details, Xiaotong found quite a few design details exclusive to the Denza Z9GT.

The steering wheel design is similar to the Denza N7's four-spoke design, but the bottom two spokes are designed more towards the BYD Dolphin. The multifunction button area of the Denza Z9GT is designed similarly to the Denza N7, but the angle has been adjusted around the driver's thumb, making it more ergonomic, unlike the parallel design of the Denza N7.

Looking at the gear lever area, the Denza Z9GT also uses the family's commonly used crystal gear shift knob, which can be seen with more exclusive designs in the shape and line direction, unlike other models that only have a simple shape design. More importantly, the buttons next to the gear shift knob also use the same crystal material, which is indeed more advanced than the Denza D9 and Denza N7, which use the same design as BYD models.

The UI design of the co-pilot screen is identical to that of the Denza N7, but the side air vents are worth mentioning. In fact, many users have complained about the air vents of the Denza N7. Although there is a dedicated area for controlling the air vents, which is quite unique, these two slender strip-shaped air vents significantly affect the overall integrity of the entire panel. Therefore, the Denza Z9GT designs the air vents to be closable, which solves the visual issue of affecting the overall integrity.

In addition, there is a specific screen on both sides of the center console. Combined with the configuration of the streaming exterior rearview mirror, it's not difficult to guess that these two positions are used to display information from the rear of both sides of the car.

As for other configurations, the officially released information includes a zero-gravity co-pilot seat with rich functionality, a front and rear dual refrigerator that supports heating and cooling, a Devialet elevating speaker tower, a dual 50W wireless charging pad that supports elevation, front and rear vanity mirrors, a sunshade-equipped sunroof, and more.

From the official preview video, the interior of the Denza Z9GT has a strong sense of luxury, and the configuration performance is very satisfactory, especially in terms of comfort configuration. The "fridge, TV, and large sofa" can be said to be fully equipped. However, Xiaotong discovered from the exposed real car images that one of the designs that consumers may complain about is the rear refrigerator.

The Denza Z9GT provides refrigerators that support cooling and heating in both the front and rear rows, presumably to allow both rows to enjoy the same experience. It's rare to find a model that can achieve this, but because of the addition of the rear refrigerator, the middle seat in the rear row cannot be reclined like the side seats, which may affect users' ability to place large items.

Theoretically speaking, this design may not matter much to consumers who don't have too much space demand, but when it comes down to the essence, the Denza Z9GT is positioned as a shooting brake, and storage capacity should be its advantage. However, it is now limited by one configuration, which seems somewhat counterproductive.

Opinions on the internet are mixed, but Xiaolei believes that as a car company with extensive car manufacturing experience, Denza has its own considerations for various functional details on the car. There must be a reason behind the final form presented by the Denza Z9GT.

To put it another way, it's hard to say whether consumers in the Chinese market have a stronger obsession with the trunk space of a shooting brake or the practical function of a refrigerator. Moreover, in the future, Denza could also launch a configuration without a refrigerator to achieve a completely flat rear seat and gain more space. All in all, Denza's move is both offensive and defensive.

A niche form, can it be the key to breaking the deadlock?

Compared to traditional sedans, wagons/shooting brakes have more ample storage capacity in the trunk, and they are based on sedans, retaining the elegant and low-slung posture of sedans without losing much handling quality.

Previously, automakers were very cautious about the wagon category, mainly because domestic consumers' aesthetic views on wagons differ from overseas markets. Some industry insiders even suggested that it was related to price, as wagons were mainly introduced into the domestic market in the form of imports in the early years. However, since the discontinuation of the 100,000-level wagon, Baojun Valli, it can be basically confirmed that the wagon category does have some "water and soil discomfort" in the domestic market, and fewer and fewer automakers dare to develop the wagon market.

It's worth noting that models like the NIO ET5T and Zeekr 001 that have been launched in recent years also adopt a popular GT design and have relatively good sales, indicating that the market's acceptance of wagons is gradually increasing, and the public opinion environment for the Denza Z9GT is at least no longer as bad as before. Xiaotong also noticed that netizens' evaluation of the Denza Z9GT's styling design tends to be more positive.

Currently, the more popular mid-to-large-sized new energy sedans are the BYD Han, Xiaomi SU7, and Zeekr 001. However, considering the brand positioning and the product pre-sale price range (400,000 yuan - 600,000 yuan), Xiaotong believes that the Denza Z9GT is not targeting these new energy mid-to-large sedans, but rather aims to seize market share from traditional luxury brand models like the Audi A6L, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and BMW 5 Series.

Based on the currently leaked information, the Denza Z9GT's positioning against the "BBA" mainly relies on two points: eye-catching styling design and excellent interior quality. In addition, after years of operation, Denza's brand influence has also been significantly improved, gaining recognition from many high-end customers. Combining these factors, Denza has a chance to seize a certain market share from BBA with the new Z9GT model.

Needless to say, the trunk space of the Denza Z9GT does not have an advantage over the "56E," but the front and rear dual refrigerators can indeed reflect a certain sense of luxury. Coupled with other advantages such as body styling, configuration, and new energy power, it can almost be肯定的 that the Denza Z9GT will outperform the "56E" in terms of hard power. From the perspective of the "56E" target audience, considering "executive sedans," space is not their absolute rigid demand, but rather they value practical configurations and the creation of a sense of luxury.

Of course, Xiaotong believes that Denza will not allow complaints about trunk space to persist, and hopes to find a solution that balances practicality and luxury configurations in the future. Let's wait and see.

With a good price, there is a chance to break through the siege

From a market perspective, does the Denza Z9GT have the opportunity to become the next high-volume model for the Denza brand? Data shows that in the mid-to-large sedan market within the price range of 400,000 yuan to 600,000 yuan, only traditional luxury brand models like the "56E" sell well, with monthly sales basically between 10,000 and 15,000 units. Combining other models, the monthly basic capacity of this segment is between 80,000 and 100,000 units.

Consumers who can spend around 500,000 yuan on a car tend to value brand influence. The influence of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi speaks for itself. If the monthly sales of the Denza Z9GT can exceed 10,000 units, it proves that the car has passed the market's recognition, not only becoming the brand's second high-volume model but also enriching the automotive culture of the domestic shooting brake market.

However, as mentioned earlier, Denza's recognition of its luxury attributes is not as high as BBA, and it's not easy to seize the BBA audience. But in Xiaotong's opinion, the Denza Z9GT is not without opportunity.

According to data, the monthly sales of the Audi A6L and Mercedes-Benz E-Class are about one-third higher than that of the BMW 5 Series, mainly due to price. Xiaotong queried a third-party automotive platform and found that, taking Beijing as an example, the Audi A6L and Mercedes-Benz E-Class can offer terminal discounts of over 100,000 yuan, while the BMW 5 Series only has terminal discounts of around 60,000 yuan. In other words, when brand influence is similar, even in the 500,000 yuan segment, high cost-performance is still very attractive.

Nowadays, relying on its product design and the market reputation of Denza D9 and BYD Group, the Denza Z9GT has accumulated a certain reputation in the early stages. If the Denza Z9GT can offer an attractive price, it indeed has a great opportunity to bring a significant market impact to the "56E" in the early stages. Once the Denza Z9GT successfully opens up the market, the Denza N7 and Denza N8 models will also benefit from it.

Source: Leikeji