India, April 25 -- Chinese EV maker BYD will showcase its premium brand's first sedan at the Beijing auto show on Thursday, in a challenge to the likes of Germany's Mercedes-Benz which three years ago pulled out of the brand's development citing slow sales.

The Denza Z9GT is the fruit of BYD founder Wang Chuanfu persisting with the brand after Mercedes-Benz effectively became a sleeping partner in their decade-old 50-50 premium EV venture by cutting its stake to 10%.

The car will complement Denza's N7 and N8 SUVs and D9 multipurpose vehicle, whose surging sales have contributed to BYD's EV domination at the expense of legacy foreign automakers.

"In the past, traditional luxury brands were defined by their logos. Today, luxury for new e...