The new Denza Z9 GT from BYD can parallel park by moving sideways. The system is part of the brand's ambitious plans for Europe.
A new luxury car from BYD is now getting attention – not for range or horsepower, but for something as down-to-earth as parking.
The upcoming Denza Z9 GT can parallel park by “crawling” sideways.
The car, built for the European market, is equipped with advanced four-wheel steering and a new platform that allows the 5.2-meter-long car to move sideways at an angle of up to 15 degrees.
This means that the car can slide into a parking space without the driver having to reverse back and forth. However, it does come at a cost…
Bid challenges German luxury – and makes parking a pretty cool trick
Denza is BYD's new luxury brand in Europe, and the Z9 GT is the model that will make drivers look beyond Audi, Mercedes and BMW. The car is designed by Wolfgang Egger, who has previously designed for Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini, among others.
The Z9 GT is built on BYD's new "e3" platform, which is a further development of their existing electric car architecture.
The platform supports three separate electric motors – two at the rear and one at the front – and also enables advanced maneuvers such as U-turns in under five meters and turning the car on the spot.
As a new feature, the front wheels each have their own independent steering system. This allows the car to rotate around its own axis – or perform a so-called “crab walk”, where the car slides sideways into a parking space.
BYD keeps driving – even with a flat tire
The new platform also incorporates technology that BYD has taken from its electric supercar Yangwang U9. This includes the active suspension system, where the car can adjust the shock absorbers individually.
If one of the car's tires gets a flat tire, the Z9 GT can automatically compensate and continue driving on the remaining three wheels. That's pretty crazy!
BYD's new platform uses an 8-in-1 solution, which combines electric control, battery management, charger, inverter and gear system into one integrated unit.
The system is developed for both pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids and is fully compatible with BYD's Blade batteries.
Denza Z9 GT coming to Europe in 2026
Denza will launch pure electric models like the Z9 GT on the European market as early as this year, while plug-in hybrids will follow in 2026. It is still unknown whether the “crawling” function will become standard across the entire model range.
There's also no official word on whether the feature causes unnecessary wear on the tires, but BYD has released a video showing the system in action. And a little extra wear is inevitable. But how often do you actually parallel park?
The Z9 GT is a big car, but with the new technology, parallel parking suddenly becomes less of a challenge. Whether it remains a gimmick – or a real game changer – time will tell.
