BYD's Denza is going after the Defender and Range Rover!
Li said the Denza showrooms will be "very beautiful" spaces designed to look like a "crystal box", with a modern, minimalist layout and liberal use of glass.
The company is working to ensure Denza is not simply seen as a sub-brand of BYD. "The importance is that people understand this is more premium", said Li, likening Denza to Audi while BYD would be more like Volkswagen.
Li said the design and technical capability of Denza's cars will help the brand compete with the likes of BMW and Mercedes. She highlighted the Z9's dramatic styling and ability to turn on the spot as standout attributes, plus the self-parking functionality and the ability to plug into chargers automatically.
In the case of the Denza B5, Li said its off-road prowess and high levels of technology will give it the edge against established competitors like the Land Rover Defender.
"Our technology, I would say, is 10 times better than legacy brands - and they give you a new experience," she said.
Crucially, Li confirmed, all electric Denza models will be compatible with BYD's new 1000kW ultra-rapid EV chargers, which can add 249 miles of range in just five minutes. Following their rollout in China earlier this year, BYD is in talks with partners to install the devices across the UK, where they will be by far the fastest chargers available.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Labour vows to make Britain's rivers cleanest on record by halving sewage pollution
Labour will leave Britain with the cleanest rivers on record by cutting sewage pollution from water firms in half by 2030, the environment secretary will say. Steve Reed will promise on Sunday to make the UK's rivers the cleanest since records began with a £104bn investment to rebuild the country's crumbling sewage pipes. Mr Reed will also roll out a set of strict new rules to slash pollution and a 'root and branch' overhaul of the way water companies are regulated. With a landmark report into the industry being published on Monday, the environment secretary is to promise families across the country cleaner beaches and healthier rivers. It will mark the first time ministers have set a clear target for reducing sewage pollution against which they can be judged at the next election. The package is also aimed at reducing phosphorus from treated wastewater by half by 2028 – the pollutant causes algae blooms, which are harmful to wildlife. The pledge comes as the government faces public disgust over record sewage spills and rising bills, while tasked with turning around the poor governance of debt-ridden water firms. Mr Reed said: 'Families have watched their local rivers, coastlines and lakes suffer from record levels of pollution. 'My pledge to you: the government will halve sewage pollution from water companies by the end of the decade.' It comes ahead of Monday morning's publication of the Independent Water Commission's landmark review into the ailing water sector. The commission was set up by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their response to systemic failures in the industry, although ministers have ruled out nationalising companies. The government will respond to the recommendations in parliament on Monday. On Friday, the Environment Agency revealed that serious pollution incidents caused by water firms across England increased by 60 per cent last year, compared with 2023. The watchdog said companies recorded a total of 2,801 pollution incidents in 2024, up from 2,174 in 2023. Of these, 75 were categorised as posing 'serious or persistent' harm to wildlife and human health, up from 47 last year. Ministers have vowed a 'root and branch reform' to the industry and have introduced a package of measures over the last year to cut pollution levels. They have banned bonuses for 10 bosses this year and threatened prison sentences for law-breaking executives. The government has also hailed plans for £104bn of investment into upgrading crumbling pipes and building new treatment works, as well as ringfencing consumer bills for upgrades instead of companies using money for shareholder payouts of executive bonuses. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has received a record £189m to support hundreds of enforcement officers for inspections and prosecutions, with fines from companies footing the increase in funding. Ministers hope this will help to reach the newly announced targets on sewage pollution, which can cause harm to swimmers, loss of aquatic life, and the destruction of ecosystems. 'One of the largest infrastructure projects in England's history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good,' Mr Reed said. The new pledge also includes working with devolved governments to ban wet wipes containing plastic across the UK, continued work on pre-pipe measures, such as sustainable drainage systems, and the start of trials by water companies of nature-based solutions, such as constructed wetlands. It comes alongside the storm overflow discharge reduction plan, which has set targets on reducing spills, including a 75 per cent reduction in discharging into high-priority sites, such as rare chalk streams, by 2035. There is an already existing statutory target to reduce phosphorus loadings from treated wastewater by 80 per cent by 2038 against a 2020 baseline, as well as an interim goal of a 50 per cent reduction by the end of January 2028 under the environmental improvement plan.
The Sun
9 minutes ago
- The Sun
Self-employed urged to start saving for retirement amid pension time bomb
THE self-employed will be urged to start saving for retirement amid the pension time bomb. Ministers are launching a commission to look at ways to help the self-employed build their pension pots. 1 Figures shared exclusively with the Sun on Sunday show that while nearly half were saving towards a pension in the late Nineties, fewer than 20 per cent are doing so today. It means over three million self-employed workers are not saving for their retirement. Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: 'I'm concerned that too many people – including millions of hard-working self-employed Brits – aren't saving enough. 'I won't sit by and let their futures hang in the balance. "We're going to tackle the looming retirement crisis and give working people the retirement they deserve.' The panel will report back to the Government in 2027. The Government is currently planning some of the biggest pension reforms in decades. It earlier announced plans to move billions of pounds of pension savings into larger "megafunds". The scheme is aimed at boosting savers' retirement pots as well as investment in the UK.
BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
Water company sewage pollution to halve by 2030, minister pledges
The number of times sewage is discharged by water companies will be halved by 2030, the environment secretary has Reed's vow marks the first time ministers have set a clear target on the issue, following public outcry over the pollution comes after data published by the Environment Agency on Friday showed serious pollution incidents by water companies in England rose by 60% in 2024 to the highest number on said families had "watched their local rivers, coastlines and lakes suffer from record levels of pollution" - but the Conservatives said Labour had "done nothing to stop water bill rises" despite "big promises" to reform the system. The pledge forms part of wider government plans to improve the water sector, ahead of a landmark Water Commission review of the industry due to be published on plans announced on Sunday will also include a commitment to work with devolved governments across the UK to ban wet wipes containing plastic, among other is also expected to confirm aims to cut phosphorus pollution from treated wastewater - which causes algae blooms that are harmful to wildlife - in half by 2028, compared to 2024 has been widespread scrutiny of water companies over the increasing number of sewage discharges into UK waterways amid rising bills - all while the firms have paid out millions to executives and Environment Agency said water companies recorded 2,801 pollution incidents in 2024, up from 2,174 in those, 75 were considered to pose "serious or persistent" harm to fisheries, drinking water and human health - up from 47 last the same time, water bosses in England were paid £7.6m in bonuses, according to the government. In June, it barred them from being paid out at six firms that had fallen foul of environmental and consumer standards. The Water Commission's chair will lay out his recommendations on how to improve the environmental and financial performance of the sector. The government will respond in UK media outlets reported on Friday that the report would suggest scrapping the regulator, Ofwat, altogether. A government spokesperson said it would not comment on has a combined sewage system, which means both rainfall and sewage are processed through the same system. Last year, rainfall levels were up, which could have overwhelmed some water company despite variations in rainfall, discharges that result in serious pollution are a breach of their permits and legal incidents are reported to the Environment Agency by the companies themselves, but of 4,000 inspections carried out last year by the regulator, nearly a quarter of sites were in breach of their permits.A record £104bn is due to be invested into the water sector over the next five years to improve its a result, consumer bills are expected to rise on average by £123 annually - though for Southern Water customers this could be as much as £224. The Environment Agency has also received £189m to support hundreds of enforcement offices to inspect and prosecute water companies, with the fines retroactively paying for shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said the government "must be transparent about where the £104bn investment is coming from as some will come through customer bill rises".She said plans "must also include credible proposals to improve the water system's resilience to droughts, without placing an additional burden on bill payers and taxpayers".
