Never before has a Chinese carmaker shown up at Goodwood with this kind of ambition. BYD has picked the 2026 Festival of Speed as its main European stage of the year — and lined up eight premieres on a 2,016-square-metre stand, the largest in the event’s 33-year history. From 9 to 12 July, the group’s three brands will unload everything they have on the British public.
The headline act belongs to premium brand Denza. Goodwood will host the world debut of the Denza Z Coupe and its track-focused Z Racing twin — a pair of electric sports cars with a triple-motor layout, a claimed top speed of around 350 km/h and a full carbon-fibre aero kit on the Racing version. The Bao 5 also makes its European debut here: an SUV built equally for tarmac and serious off-road work, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine paired to three electric motors.
For the UK market Denza is bringing two more cars: the Z9GT and the D9 DM-i. The first covers the sporting flank, the second the chauffeur game — seven seats, middle-row massage chairs that recline to 152 degrees, up to 210 km of WLTP electric range and a dual-motor 353 hp setup. Not a limousine, but a living room on wheels.
Under the BYD badge come the Dolphin G DM-i and the Shark pick-up. The Dolphin G is the only plug-in hybrid in the supermini class, with a combined range above 1,000 km. The Shark, meanwhile, packs a 435 hp hybrid powertrain, sprints to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds and tows up to 2.5 tonnes — and it’s the model that will kick off BYD’s European pickup career.
But the real showstopper sits at the top of the range. Luxury marque Yangwang will, for the first time on British soil, roll out the U9 Xtreme — the electric supercar that hit 496 km/h and set the absolute production-car speed record. Alongside it: the U7 saloon with its e&sup4; four-motor layout, and the U8L — a four-seat luxury SUV that can swim. Literally: it shuts the windows, spins its wheels and crosses water.
From budget hybrids to record-breaking EVs, all on one stand, in one corner of the planet. Mark this July down — the Chinese didn’t come to Goodwood to spectate.
