DS Automobiles

PSA originally consisted of three automobile brands, Peugeot, Citroën, and the soon dropped Talbot, but none was considered a "premium" brand. Since 1976, PSA has experimented with differentiating the brands by price level, similar to Chevrolet/Buick or Volkswagen/Audi, but neither brand had the strength to justify premium pricing.[5]

By launching the DS line, Groupe PSA decided to build on the design heritage of the original Citroën DS (1955–1975) by Flaminio Bertoni and André Lefèbvre. The DS line started with the Citroën DS3 in the beginning of 2010, a small car based on the floorpan 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 J.D. Power Satisfaction Survey UK, and the second most efficient supermini (Citroën DS3 1.6 eHDi 115 Airdream: True MPG 63.0mpg) by What Car? behind the Citroën C3.[6][7][8][9]

In 2013, the Citroën DS3 was again the best-selling premium subcompact car with 40% of the market share in Europe. The DS series is deeply connected to Citroën, as the DS4,[10] launched in 2010, is based on the 2008 Citroën Hypnos concept car and the DS5,[11] following in 2011, is based on the concept car of 2005, the Citroën C-SportLounge.

According to PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, DS would keep using the same platforms and dealerships as other PSA models, but would distinguish itself from Citroën cars by using "separate manufacturing and engineering standards".[12]

The DS cars' rear badge is a new logo rather than the Citroën double chevron, and all have different styling compared to their equivalent Citroën car.[13][14] Citroën produced several concept sports cars, with the fully working Citroën Survolt being badged as a DS.[15] A 2014 concept car, the DS Divine, develops the Survolt prototype as the future sport coupé of the DS range.

In China, DS vehicles have been sold in separate dealerships since 2014. DS models for sale in China were produced by the Changan PSA joint venture based in Shenzhen until May 2020, when the factory was acquired by the Baoneng Group. The DS 5LS and DS 6WR are only sold in China. With the facelift of the DS5 in 2015, the DS brand was also separated from the Citroën brand in Europe,[16] and standalone DS dealerships are planned worldwide.[17][18][19]

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