BYD to self-import luxury brand Denza in Singapore; appoints Sime Darby unit and Harmony Auto as dealers
China EV maker adopts self-distribution model of German luxury brands for improved margins
CHINA automotive giant BYD is bringing its luxury brand Denza to Singapore, and will assume distributorship for this marque itself – in contrast to its approach for its mainstream electric vehicles (EVs).
BYD has appointed two dealers for Denza: Vantage Automotive and Harmony Auto, ahead of Denza’s official launch in October.
Vantage is a subsidiary of Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby, a major regional player in the automotive industry that is listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.
Since 2019, Vantage has been the sole distributor of BYD’s mainstream EVs in Singapore, with multiple dealers including Motor-East, EightX Group and Harmony as well as Vantage itself.
Harmony is owned by China Harmony Auto Holding, an automotive retail and distributorship group operating mainly in China and listed in Hong Kong.
Both dealers will build new showrooms dedicated to the brand. The first Denza model in Singapore will be the D9 large multi-purpose vehicle.
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BYD’s choice of self-distribution for Denza, instead of having Vantage as the distributor, means that the marque’s sales structure in Singapore will be similar to that of German luxury brands Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The German brands all have their own subsidiaries to import and distribute cars in Singapore.
This is also a departure from the traditional mainstream car sales model where one entity – typically not a subsidiary of the brand itself – is both the sole distributor and dealer.
Automotive consultant Say Kwee Neng said: “Typically with self-distribution, an automaker is aiming to recover the distribution margins and that will help pay for their market strategies, for example, volume dominance.”
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“They may choose not to hold stock, which ties up working capital, and instead delegate this responsibility downstream to multiple dealers. This again helps lower their operating costs in Singapore,” he added.
Denza was founded in 2010 as a joint venture between BYD and the Mercedes-Benz Group, although the latter reduced its share to 10 per cent in 2021.
BYD also has another luxury brand, Yangwang, with off-roaders and sports car models.
In July, Geely-owned Zeekr was the first Chinese luxury car brand to launch in Singapore.
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