July 5, 2023: Chinese electric car firm BYD is establishing a new electric SUV, its most direct rival to Tesla’s Model Y.

On Monday, BYD’s Denza brand said that it received more than 20,000 pre-orders for its N7 all-electric SUV and reported a price range of 301,800 yuan to 379,800 yuan.

According to the company’s China website, that rivals Tesla’s Model Y, whose latest prices range from 263,900 yuan to 363,900 yuan.

According to the company, the Denza N7 is set to begin deliveries in about two weeks.

“The Denza N7 has strived squarely at the premium midsize crossover segment whose competition includes the Tesla Model Y and the Nio.

 ES6,” said Tu Le, Beijing-based advisory firm Sino Auto Insights founder.

“Denza has been under the radar for an occasional year, but BYD is ready to show off its rejuvenated brand, and the media blitz points to their confidence in the development and their desire to keep pressure on the incumbents,” he said.

During Monday’s hour-plus launch event, BYD showed clips of local car media’s positive reviews while doing test drives.

A live stream of the event had nearly 2 million views on Weibo alone, the Chinese Twitter-like platform. That’s far above the 200,000 views a Nio car launch live stream drew in late 2021.

On another page from Nio’s playbook, a live music concert followed the Denza N7 launch in Beijing.

Mercedes-Benz Group has a 10% stake in the Denza brand. Its prior electric model, the D9 multi-purpose vehicle, has claimed more than 10,000 monthly sales since March. A brand representative said the car is available in Thailand and set for release in Hong Kong, Macao, and Europe, without sharing dates.