Daniel Craig helps BYD prise open Europe’s premium market
BYD has confirmed that Daniel Craig will become the public face of Denza’s global expansion. According to the company’s official announcement, Craig will front the brand’s new campaign, his image will feature in the marketing and television advertising for several key models this year, and Denza’s first major European model presentation is set for 8 April at Paris’s Palais Garnier, where the Z9GT will take centre stage.
The important nuance lies in how the brand wants to present itself. Denza officially arrived in Europe back in 2025 in Milan, introducing itself as a high technology premium marque with European influenced design. Reuters notes that Denza began life as a 50:50 joint venture between BYD and Mercedes, but now sits fully under BYD’s control. That background helps explain why Craig fits the brief. Denza is not trying to sell itself in Europe as a cheaper Chinese alternative. It wants to place itself alongside BMW, Mercedes and the rest of the established premium guard.
The first spear in Denza’s European offensive is the Z9GT. BYD says the rear wheel drive version will offer up to 800 kilometres of range in Europe, a 122kWh battery, more than 960hp in the three motor model and charging performance that takes the battery from 10 per cent to 70 per cent in five minutes, and from 10 per cent to 97 per cent in nine. According to Autocar, Denza is also preparing a production version of the Z electric sports coupé, which is expected to make its public debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Reuters reported that BYD is pushing Denza into Europe at a moment when its home market has slowed, Geely moved ahead of the company in January and February 2026, and BYD is looking to exports to restore growth. At the same time, the European market suggests the push is not landing in a vacuum. Reuters says BYD’s sales more than doubled in February compared with the same month a year earlier, and its market share already reached Tesla’s level, at 1.8 per cent. Denza’s role in that strategy is obvious enough. BYD does not just want to win Europe on volume. It wants a place in the fight for pricing power and profit margins too.
And that is where Craig comes in. He is less a celebrity garnish than a statement of intent. Denza wants to arrive in Europe wearing a dinner jacket, not a discount sticker.
