BYD claims longest EV range with 683-mile Denza Z9S priced as Tesla Model 3

The ink has barely dried on BYD's Denza Z9 GT's longest EV range record, and the company managed to beat it with the new Denza Z9S premium sedan that can cover 1,100 km (683 miles) on a single charge of its 122 kWh battery when tested on the local CLTC cycle.

The kicker is that the high-end Denza Z9S comes with all the bells and whistles of a luxury sedan, from the interior comforts to the ultrafast charging speed, all the while it costs close to a Tesla Model 3 in China. Granted, a Hongqi electric sedan recently claimed the longest range for a passenger vehicle, but that is an EREV with a gas engine generator, while the Z9S is a pure electric vehicle.

Denza Z9S claims the longest EV range

The top trim is rated at 1,100 km (684 miles) of CLTC range, which the WLTP cycle puts at about 891 km (554 miles), and it uses BYD's Blade 2 battery. Prices run from the equivalent of $37,600, very close to the Model 3. The Z9S is offered at 780 km and 920 km CLTC as well, but the 780 km version is a powerful tri-motor version with a combined 1,194 hp output that hits 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 2.68 seconds. 

Denza's larger Z9 GT held the record before it, at 1,036 km, and there are other claims to EV range fame in China. Nio rates the ET7 with its 150 kWh solid-liquid electrode battery at 1,000 km CLTC, while Zeekr built a limited run of the 001 with a 140 kWh CATL pack and the same range claim, roughly 800 km WLTP.

Lucid, however, holds the Guinness record for the longest trip on a single charge with 1,205 km in July 2025, and its Air is rated at 960 km WLTP, with Mercedes a close second for the 925 km WLTP for the refreshed EQS.

These are all numbers on tests that are not relevant for the cars available in the US market, though, as here the EPA estimate reigns supreme. The Chinese CLTC cycle that relies heavily on city driving is about a third more generous than the EPA test, which would mean that the "longest range EV" in China would actually cover a bit over 450 miles on a single charge in the EPA database. 

At the same time, Lucid's 2026 Air Grand Touring trim is rated at 512 miles EPA, and its Gravity SUV is rated at 450 miles, so Lucid might be handily beating BYD in the range realm. Fans may never know, as the Denza Z9S is not coming to the US, where the EPA testing is far more stringent than all other global EV range testing cycles.