Denza N7 fastback crossover to be offered as EV and PHEV – lidar, facial recognition; 0-100 km/h in 3 s

Denza, the Chinese joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz, has unveiled the N7, a fastback crossover model which has been styled after the Inception concept model from last year.

Just the exterior of the N7 has been shown, but for now as with the Inception concept, the silhouette somewhat recalls that of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with some similarity in the shapes over the wheelarches as well as towards the rear of its glasshouse.

Going by these images, the feature set on the N7 could also include Lidar sensors in its front bumper, while a peek into its interior reveals what could be a facial recognition sensor on the interior of its A-pillar. From the few exterior images shown, the dashboard also sports a floating screen for infotainment.

Official specifications have yet to be revealed, however Car News China suggests that the N7 will sport dimensions that are close, if not identical to those of the Inception concept, which measures 4.9 m long and has a wheelbase of 2.9 m.

The Denza N7 will be offered as a plug-in hybrid as well as a full BEV, and its most potent form will yield a 0-100 km/h time of three seconds, according to the website.

If compared to the Denza D9, the luxury MPV is also offered in full EV and PHEV forms; as an EV, the D9 employs a BYD Blade battery pack that offers a maximum range of 600 km, though no kWh capacity figure was quoted; peak charging for the D9 is claimed to be 166 kW.

For the plug-in hybrid, the D9 pairs a 1.5 litre turbocharged petrol engine with electric motors and batteries of smaller outputs and capacities, respectively, and they PHEV D9 is claimed to have a full EV range of 190 km while total range is a claimed 1,040 km. Given the N7’s supercar-like 0-100 km/h acceleration time, the crossover’s powertrain is likely more potent.

According to CNEV Post, the Denza N7 will go on sale in China in the second quarter of this year according to Denza sales general manager Zhao Changjiang, and the fastback crossover will be aimed at the market for ICE vehicles priced around 400,000 yuan (RM258,007). For comparison, the Denza D9 MPV went on sale in China from 390,000 yuan in May 2022, which is around RM254k for exchange rates at the time.

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