France’s newest premium brand is launching in the UK this month.
DS is the prestige part of Citroen and until now the initials have been used on up-market versions of the Chevron-badged brand with 80,000 sold worldwide. But not anymore.
In future the DS symbols will stand for a separate series, beginning with the top of range DS 5 which launched in the UK this week and 60 years after the first DS was unveiled in Paris. Then, its design and technology were seen as revolutionary and futuristic as France emerged from post World War 2 austerity and sought to reassert itself on the roads of a shattered Europe.
Today, DS is beginning a new journey with three models in Europe led by the DS 5 at the top along with the latest refreshed versions of the DS 3 hatch and Cabrio, and the DS 4.
By 2020 there will be six cars in their range, three new and the next generations of the current trio, and DS Automobiles UK intend to have a bespoke brand of dealers to sell them, some existing franchisees and some new to the marque.
Plans to create the separate DS brand were announced in the summer of 2014 and the first cars to carry the initials appeared a few months later but it was at Geneva motor show in 2015 that the range topping DS 5 was unveiled.
It is built for Europe just outside Paris while a joint venture will also see it assembled in China, where longer wheelbase version DS 5LS is made particularly for the booming Far East market. Future production will see an SUV in the line up.
DS head of communications in the UK, John Handcock, outlined their intentions for the UK, “We are looking at the viability of a flagship store in London which would be DS World along with DS Stores in selected locations. Some may be existing franchisees we have business relationships with but they will have to differentiate the DS operation, while others are likely to be new to the brand and may sell rival marques.”
He said that DS is still looking at all options and it’s too early to indicate where or how many DS outlets there will be, although it will be ten or 15 years before the network is complete.
Alastair Fairgrieve is product manager for the DS in Britain and said it will have strong appeal to business users who’ll account for approximately 80% of registrations.
“About half the sales will be the 150PS diesel and the remainder will be fairly evenly split between petrol and diesel manual and automatic but Hybrid is likely to be very small percentage, with the Elegance trim possibly more popular,” he added.
DS 5 comprises two specifications, Elegance and Prestige, with a small range of Euro 6 diesel and petrol engines, including Hybrid 4×4, in the nine-car line up from £25,980 to £34,890.A celebration 1955 Edition is included as well at £29,600 with particular features to mark the 60th anniversary of the original DS.
The franchise review of the current 188 Citroen dealers who sell DS models as part of their range will see changes and investment requirements to develop a separate identity for the new premium brand, said Mr Fairgrieve.
He acknowledged that as a result of the realignment the level of Citroen sales is likely to decrease because about 30% of current sales were DS but this will be offset by new models appearing with the well-known chevron badge on the front.
In future, the present PSA Peugeot Citroen Group will have three distinct brands serving the market, Citroen for mass sales; Peugeot upper mainstream and DS for premium business, he said.
First impressions
Launching a premium French car in the UK on the 200th anniversary of Waterloo inevitably draws comparisons and conclusions.
An aspiring global player lining up against established foes could seemingly only have one outcome. Time will tell whether the course of automotive history is changed or consolidated.
DS5 is the stand-alone replacement for the Citroen C5 and with its arrival, DS Automobiles has sought to drive home its premium aspirations.
DS5 is a stunningly attractive and freshly restyled car both externally and internally and it comes with the latest and greenest powertrains.
In a demanding market where style alone cannot guarantee success it is going to struggle against rivals with known residual values and running costs and DS 5 is not helped by its specification.
We drove the perceived best selling 150hp 2.0 BlueHDi with six-speed manual gearbox, retuned front Macpherson and rear independent trailing arms and coil springs over fixed rate shock absorbers, electric steering and sophisticated all-disc brakes, 18-inch alloys and 235/45 ZR Michelin tyres.
It’s a fairly straightforward powertrain and chassis without the selectability of adjustable dampers or steering found in rivals and the result is the DS 5 was very firm even hard riding on the low profile tyres on some roads and steering had little progression.
Mechanically it was lively, quiet and economical with over 46mpg recorded over main and secondary roads.
Seats were large and comfortable but my colleague struggled to get the driver’s seat low enough for his knees under the wheel without having to adjust the column so it did not obscure the instruments display. Occupant and luggage space were good at 465 litres.
On the road, forward and side visibility was clear but the view through the back window was poor, due to the high tail and horizontal trailing wing over the glass (see below).
Sixty years ago the DS turned heads and made other manufacturers think really hard about what they were making, but the new DS 5 is not trend-setting or ground breaking and it’s going to struggle to catch up with rivals which ride and handle better over UK roads.
