DS Automobiles
"Spirit of Avant-Garde"
|
|
| Premium brand of Groupe PSA | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded |
2009 : as a premium sub-brand of Citroën 2014 : as a standalone brand of Groupe PSA |
| Founder | Groupe PSA |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide, except United States, Canada, Mexico, and South Asia |
|
Key people
|
Yves Bonnefont, CEO |
| Products | Automobiles |
| Owner | Groupe PSA |
| Parent | Citroën |
| Website | dsautomobiles |
2009 : as a premium sub-brand of Citroën
DS is the premium brand of Groupe PSA. The DS marque was first announced in early 2009 by Citroën as a premium sub-brand added to certain models, with DS being an abbreviation of Different Spirit or Distinctive Series (although the reference to the historical Citroën DS is evident), to run in parallel to its mainstream cars. The name is also a play on words, as in French it is pronounced like the word , meaning goddess. Since 2015 (and since 2012 already in China), the Citroen branding was dropped from the DS line models, and DS continued as a standalone brand. According to PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, DS will keep using the same platforms and dealerships as other PSA models, but will distinguish itself from Citroën cars by using "separate manufacturing and engineering standards".
The DS line started with the Citroën DS3 in early 2010, a small car based on the floor plan of the new C3. The DS3 is based on the concept of the Citroën C3 Pluriel model and the Citroën DS Inside concept car, and customisable with various roof colours that can contrast with the body panels. It was named 2010 Car of the Year by Top Gear Magazine, awarded first supermini four times in a row by the JD Power Satisfaction Survey UK and second most efficient supermini (Citroën DS3 1.6 e-HDi 115 Airdream : True MPG 63.0mpg) by What Car ? behind the Citroën C3. In 2013, the Citroën DS3 was again the most sold premium subcompact car with 40% of these market shares in Europe, validating the business model of this product development.
The DS series is deeply connected to Citroën, as the DS4, launched in 2010, is based on the 2008 Citroën Hypnos concept car and the DS5, following in 2011, is based on the 2005 Citroën C-SportLounge concept car.
...
Wikipedia