Luxury brand coming to NZ

BYD Australia and New Zealand has announced the appointment of Mark Harland as chief operating officer of Denza, the company’s luxury brand that is preparing to launch down under.

After founding Denza in 2010, BYD took full control of development and operations in 2024.

Harland, pictured, is based in Melbourne and was previously chief operating officer at EVDirect, which is BYD’s exclusive distributor in Australia. 

BYD notes he was instrumental in the Chinese marque’s rapid growth across the ditch and helped deliver more than 60,000 new vehicles to Australian consumers in just over two-and-a-half years.

Harland has more than 25 years of global experience and spent more than 15 of those at General Motors, where he led marketing, customer experience, sales and operations across regions including North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Australia.

He also spent four years at Opel in Germany and Switzerland at the start of his career and from January 2017 to June 2018 was chief marketing officer for Holden in Australia.

More recently, he worked for Australian energy provider AGL and co-piloted an initiative to launch its early-stage EV subscription programme.

BYD says Harland’s strategic insight and operational leadership will be instrumental as it gets ready to launch Denza in Australia and New Zealand.

Wing You, BYD Australia general manager, says: “Mark has been a solid and important part of BYD’s success in Australia through EVDirect. His experience will be critical in shaping the next phase of BYD’s future in this market.”

Harland adds he is excited to continue his BYD journey with Denza. “We’ve kept details under wraps, but this brand promises to build on the incredible success of BYD with a premium offering for customers,” he continues.

“There has already been an incredible amount of interest in Denza, which will redefine luxury in Australia by delivering cutting-edge innovation and world-leading craftsmanship at an exceptional price point.”