Denza is owned by BYD, since 2022.

Fifteen years, one owner

The year is coloured by whoever held it at the time.

1. 2011 Denza began as an equal joint venture between BYD and Daimler. BYD's own timeline dates the agreement to 「2010年5月27日，比亚迪股份有限公司与戴姆勒股份公司签署合同，在中国成立深圳比亚迪戴姆勒新技术有限公司，双方各占一半股权」 — "on 27 May 2010 BYD Company Limited and Daimler AG signed a contract to establish Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co., Ltd in China, each side holding half the equity" — and Daimler's own company history records for 2010 that "BYD and Daimler AG agree the formation of the 50:50 joint venture ≫Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co. Ltd.≪ for the development of electric vehicles for the Chinese market". The venture itself was set up the following February. BYD's audited note says 「于2011年2月16日，深圳比亚迪汽车与戴姆勒东北亚投资有限公司（「戴姆勒」）共同出资设立比亚迪戴姆勒，双方持股比例各占50%」 — "on 16 February 2011 Shenzhen BYD Auto and Daimler Northeast Asia Investment Co., Ltd jointly funded the establishment of BYD Daimler, each holding 50%" — with three of six board seats each, so that 「深圳比亚迪汽车和戴姆勒对比亚迪戴姆勒实施共同控制」, the two exercised joint control; the same report says the company 「于报告期内正式成立」, was formally established during 2011. The badge came later: Mercedes-Benz's own history places the unveiling of the DENZA electric car at Auto China in 2012, "the result of the partnership between BYD and Daimler" and "the first New Energy Vehicles (NEV) brand in the Chinese market". The company was afterwards renamed 深圳腾势新能源汽车有限公司 after the brand it carried.
2. 2022 Control of Denza passed to BYD in 2022, and the 50:50 venture ended. BYD's 2022 annual report records that its subsidiary 比亚迪汽车工业有限公司 signed a shareholders' agreement and an equity transfer agreement with 戴姆勒大中华区投资有限公司, Daimler Greater China Investment: 「汽车工业和戴姆勒于本期分别增资人民币 1,000,000 千元，增资完毕后戴姆勒向汽车工业转让其持有深圳腾势新能源汽车有限公司的 40%股权，转让后汽车工业持有深圳腾势新能源汽车有限公司 90%股权，可以对深圳腾势新能源汽车有限公司实施控制，故深圳腾势新能源汽车有限公司于本期纳入本集团合并范围」 — "BYD Auto Industry and Daimler each injected RMB 1,000,000 thousand during the period; once that was done Daimler transferred its 40% of Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd to BYD Auto Industry, leaving BYD Auto Industry with 90% and able to exercise control over it, so Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive Co., Ltd was brought into the Group's consolidation in the period". The two sides had announced the restructuring at the end of December 2021; the handover shows in the same report's board table, where Wang Chuanfu became chairman of the Denza company on 8 July 2022, and in the brand itself, which BYD relaunched in May 2022 with the Denza D9. The shareholder of record is 比亚迪汽车工业有限公司, BYD Auto Industry Co., Ltd, a BYD Company subsidiary distinct from 比亚迪汽车有限公司, the Xi'an company this dataset calls BYD Auto; this record points at BYD Company, which is where the group's brand stakes sit.
3. 2024 Mercedes-Benz left Denza altogether in 2024, ending a partnership that had run since 2011. A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson confirmed that the group had sold its remaining 10%, that "BYD is the sole shareholder" and that "Mercedes-Benz no longer holds any shares in Denza", adding that even the current Denza models contain no Mercedes-Benz technology; Mercedes put the sale itself in July. The shareholder register followed on 14 September 2024, when China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System showed the Mercedes-Benz holding company gone from Denza's shareholder list, BYD's holding at 100%, and the Mercedes executive Hans Georg Engel off the board. Neither party's annual report records it: BYD already consolidated Denza and reported no relevant transactions for 2024, and the Mercedes-Benz Group's 2024 annual report does not mention Denza or BYD at all.