From a product perspective, it's hard to resist a high-performance luxury shooting brake that comes fully loaded with all the latest smart and luxurious features as standard. After all, spending just a tenth of the price to get a fully loaded top-tier Panamera is a dream for many.
However, in the context of today's market, the Denza Z9 GT, which meets all of the above criteria, may not achieve the sales expectations. As for the sales of other models? They are almost negligible.
It’s quite clear that, regardless of what the initial goal of the Denza brand was, the only model leading in sales at the moment is the Denza D9. The brand is currently strongly associated with luxury business MPVs, and this positioning is difficult to change. So the sudden appearance of a high-performance GT shooting brake seems a bit out of place.
If we set aside the Denza brand, the Z9 GT's product strength is redundant—its smart and comfort features surpass all models in the 300.000–500.000 RMB range. But for the Denza brand, transitioning from a business vehicle image to a high-performance shooting brake makes it hard to pinpoint a target user base.
After all, it’s entering the luxury car market in the 330.000–410.000 RMB range, which is currently dominated by mid-to-large SUVs and MPVs. In China, shooting brakes and high-performance cars are niche, and Denza has no prior sports heritage. Will Denza D9’s target audience recommend this car to people around them?
Although there are claims online that the pre-sale orders for the Denza Z9 GT have exceeded 20.000. if you look at the Denza N7. it also received over 11.678 orders within 24 hours of its launch. Yet its monthly sales afterward remained only in the hundreds.
In other words, Denza hasn’t even fully figured out how to sell its best-selling SUV. So can a shooting brake really win over the market? It all depends on how the Denza Z9 GT is positioned.
In terms of body dimensions and power, the Denza Z9 GT seems more like a "Porsche Panamera made by BYD." With a body length of 5.195mm and a wheelbase of 3.125mm, it’s already between C-segment and D-segment executive sedans.
Additionally, its entire range comes standard with a four-wheel-drive system, and even the entry-level model can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.6 seconds. It truly rivals the higher-end Porsche Panamera in every way.
However, the issue lies in the fact that as a mid-to-large, long-wheelbase shooting brake, the Denza Z9 GT lacks any luxurious or comfort features in the rear seats. Nearly all the high-end features are packed into the front seats, with the rear not even having a small screen. This means its positioning as an executive-level vehicle doesn’t quite hold up.
On the other hand, Porsche Panamera’s positioning is crystal clear. It at least comes equipped with sports seats, aligning with Porsche’s sporty DNA. The higher-end models even have a four-seat version with a rear center console, fitting its executive positioning.
Although even a fully-optioned Porsche Panamera doesn’t match the entry-level Denza Z9 GT in terms of configuration, its positioning is clear, and its target audience knows exactly why they’re buying the car—even if the cost-effectiveness is low, it matches their lifestyle.
So, who is the Denza Z9 GT's target audience? If it's performance-oriented buyers, the nearly 5.2-meter body is a burden, as the long length compromises handling and limits its extreme acceleration capabilities.
If it’s aimed at executive buyers, the rear seat configuration seems lackluster—neither sporty nor comfortable. Due to its shooting brake design, the rear seat backrests cannot be adjusted for recline, and there’s no leg support. For long journeys, the front seats remain far more comfortable.
Additionally, as a shooting brake, Denza hasn’t even announced any options for a shooting brake trunk kit at launch. So, it’s essentially just an executive-level shooting brake in name, but at its core, it’s still a high-performance sedan with a lot of features.
The Denza Z9 GT may represent an attempt at a major transformation for the Denza brand, and sales may not be the primary goal. Shedding the image of a business MPV might be the ultimate objective. After all, between BYD and the high-end Yangwang brand, there needs to be a Denza to bridge the gap. Only by moving beyond the influence of the Denza D9 can the brand explore a broader path forward.
