BYD’s premium brand Denza has opened reservations for the revamped N8, a large five-seat electric SUV that pairs up to 1,003 kilometers of CLTC-rated range with a tri-motor version producing 1,193 horsepower. According to CnEVPost, reservations opened on Monday ahead of the SUV’s official launch in November, following a schedule Denza announced on October 22.
A Second Life for a Failed Nameplate
The new N8 is not a brand-new badge. The original N8 launched in August 2023 with six- and seven-seat plug-in hybrid versions, but it was discontinued less than a year later because of weak sales, as CnEVPost reports. Denza then launched the substantially redesigned six-seat N8L in October 2025 and added an all-electric version in September 2026. The revived N8 complements that model with a different seating configuration rather than replacing it, giving family buyers a five-seat choice in the same large-SUV footprint.
Denza has not announced a pre-order price for the facelifted N8. Customers who pay a 2,000 yuan deposit now will receive a 5,000 yuan option credit, which suggests the company is testing demand before it commits to a sticker price.
The Numbers That Actually Matter
The headline range figure needs translation before American readers get excited. The 1,003 km figure is a CLTC rating, China’s generous test cycle, and it equals about 623 miles. CarNewsChina puts the WLTP equivalent at roughly 812 km, or about 505 miles on the European cycle, with lower versions rated at 970, 840 and 800 km CLTC. WLTP figures still run higher than US EPA ratings, so do not read 812 km as an EPA number. Even with that caveat, a 130.15 kWh second-generation Blade Battery pack is a serious piece of hardware, backed by BYD’s flash-charging technology.
Performance splits three ways. Single-motor rear-wheel-drive versions produce 320 kW (429 hp) or 370 kW (496 hp), while the tri-motor all-wheel-drive version combines a 270 kW front motor with two 310 kW rear motors for 890 kW, or 1,193 hp. That flagship also gets rear-wheel steering, DiSus-A intelligent air suspension and God’s Eye 5.0 driver assistance, plus compass turns and an intelligent crawl mode from Denza’s e3 platform.
A Lounge, Not Just a Third Row
Dropping the third row changes the whole cabin. The N8 measures 5,150 mm long with a 3,075 mm wheelbase, 50 mm shorter than the six-seat N8L, and it offers two zero-gravity seats in each row, sliding rear seats and a 1,046-liter trunk. Up front, a 1.1-meter-wide panoramic head-up display pairs with a 30-inch central touchscreen, while dual 50W wireless chargers, a Devialet sound system, rear entertainment screens and an onboard refrigerator fill out the spec sheet.
For context on pricing, CarNewsChina notes the N8L, which shares the same-sized battery and is 50 mm longer, starts at 299,800 yuan (about $44,100). If the five-seat N8 lands anywhere near that territory, it will undercut most large three-row electric SUVs on price while offering more range than almost anything sold in the US today.
Why This Matters
Most coverage of this launch will stop at the 1,003 km headline. The real story is Denza’s bet that five lounge seats beat six cramped ones, and that a failed nameplate can be rescued by fixing the seating formula instead of inventing a new badge. It is also a useful benchmark for US buyers: even after converting CLTC to WLTP, the N8’s range and charging story shows how far ahead Chinese family EVs have moved on battery size, while its undisclosed price is the one number that will decide whether this revival succeeds where the original N8 failed. A plug-in hybrid version is also expected in the future, though it was not part of this announcement.
Meanwhile in Cars & EVs: US EV sales rebounded in Q3 2026 and Europe set an EV sales record in September while North America fell 44%.
