Forget charging on long trips: Denza unveils a 644-mile range luxury EV

The Chinese electric vehicle-maker BYD has a luxury sub-brand, Denza, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz, and its latest vehicle, the new Z9 GT could be the longest-lasting EV to date.

According to Electric Cars Report, BYD released a preview of the Denza Z9 GT with a range of up to 1,036 km (or 644 miles) CLTC range on a single charge. If true, that would make the Z9 GT the longest-range production EV available to date. This apparently would be a significant 64% increase over the current Z9 GT, which offers up to 630 km.

For a driving challenge, at that range, you could drive from New York City to Boston (214 miles) three times with a little bit of juice leftover.

Unfortunately, you might not be able to purchase one in the United States anytime soon, thanks to ongoing bans against Chinese EVs. Too bad, it could be one of our picks for the best electric vehicles with that range. However, Canada recently agreed to allow a limited number of Chinese EVs into the country, so maybe you just need a northern vacation.

How it compares

Looking at testing from Car and Driver, the EV with the longest range available in the United States is the Lucid Air, with a massive range of 410 miles based on the stricter EPA standard. However, even as a luxury car, the current Z9 GT only costs around $50,000 while the Lucid Air will set you back closer to $100,000.

To get something closer to the price of the Denza, we recently tested the 2025 Polestar 4 that starts around $56,000 but only has a range of 310 miles.

We are using different standards between CLCT and EPA, but either way, Denza is a massive improvement.

What the standards mean

Regulatory filings show that Denza will offer two battery options: a 102.3 kWh and a 122.5 kWh option. The smaller version still has an amazing 820 km CLTC rating.

To be clear, this is based on China's CLTC (or China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) standard. Based on reporting from Xmotors, the CLTC is supposed reflect driving patterns in densely populated areas.

CLTC testing appears to be more optimistic compared to the more conservative EPA standards in the U.S., which tend to involve more aggressive driving, higher speeds, and higher consumption of energy.

Americans face more highway and rural driving conditions, so we'd be highly interested in seeing how the Denza compares using the EPA standard.

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