DS Automobiles is a French luxury-premium marque created in 2009. Formerly part of Citroën, DS has been a standalone brand ultimately owned by PSA Group, and later Stellantis. The independent DS marque was created in 2014 from the former DS subbrand and line of models of Citroën cars made since 2009, although it had been separated from Citroën in Asia since 2012.
The name DS is considered a nod to the classic executive car Citroën DS. The name is also a play on words, as in French it is pronounced like the word , meaning "goddess".
History
The PSA Group 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. By launching the DS line, Groupe PSA decided to build on the design heritage of the original Citroën DS (1955–1975) designed 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.
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, launched in 2010, is based on the 2008 Citroën Hypnos concept car and the DS5, 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".
Overview and markets Logo
The DS Automobiles rear badge is a new logo rather than the Citroën double chevron, and all have different styling compared to their equivalent Citroën car. This logo was designed by Korean designer Jin Joo. Citroën produced several concept sports cars, with the fully working Citroën Survolt being badged as a DS. A 2014 concept car, the DS Divine, develops the Survolt prototype as the future sport coupé of the DS range.
Chinese market
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, and standalone DS dealerships are planned worldwide.
In the end of 2023, DS Automobiles announced it was withdrawing from the Chinese market.
DS Store The DS Store is the dealership network of DS Automobiles. It was introduced in China in 2014, and in Europe in 2015. In 2021, it was announced that a number of DS Store dealerships in the United Kingdom were set to close as a result of "poor volume and little return" of DS Automobiles vehicles, with just 233 new vehicle registrations in the United Kingdom for the company in March 2021. Despite the announcement, DS Automobiles announced a growth plan for the market in the United Kingdom at the end of March 2021, with the company claiming that "new dealerships and personal customer service" was pivotal for success in the British market.
In addition to DS Store dealerships, the company also operates the DS Only You privilege club which allows members to benefit from personalised services.
Leadership Yves Bonnefont (2014–2020) Beatrice Foucher (2020–2023) Olivier François (2023–2025) Xavier Peugeot (2025–present)
Models Current models
DS 3 (formerly DS 3 Crossback) DS No. 4 (formerly DS 4 (crossover)) DS No. 7 DS No. 8
Discontinued models
DS 3 (hatchback) DS 4 (hatchback) DS 4S DS 5 DS 5LS DS 6 DS 7 (formerly DS 7 Crossback) DS 9
Concept cars
Citroën C-SportLounge (2008) Citroën Hypnos (2008), occasionally shown with DS emblem Citroën DS Inside (2009) Citroën REVOLTe (2009) Citroën DS High Rider (2010) Citroën Survolt (2010) Citroën DS4 Racing (2012) Citroën Numéro 9 (2012) DS Wild Rubis (2013) Citroën DS3 Cabrio Racing (2013) DS 5LS R (2014) Divine DS (2014) DS 3 & DS 3 Cabrio Ines de la Fressange Paris (2014) DS 4 Crossback (2015) DS E-Tense and E-Tense Performance (2016, 2022 respectively) DS X E-Tense (2018) DS Code X (2019) DS Aero Sport Lounge (2020) DS SM Tribute (2024)
Sales
Year Worldwide Europe China 2009
205 2010
53,336 2011
97,579 2012 129,000 117,374
2013 122,694 110,554 1,271 2014 118,472 85,093 26,008 2015 102,335 75,163 21,451 2016 85,981 65,456 16,156 2017 52,860 45,863 5,847 2018 53,265 45,251 3,867 2019
52,597 1,254 2020
43,597 427 2021
43,970 1,853 2022
49,510 1,373 2023
48,444
Motorsport DS Performance is the competitions department of DS Automobiles, which it claims was established to accelerate the electrification transition of the brand. Although the department doesn't participate directly in motorsport by using partners instead, it assists with technological development of Formula E cars and related marketing activities.
Formula E
DS partnered with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Racing for the second season of the FIA Formula E Championship. The team competed as DS Virgin Racing, finishing in third place in the season and fourth in the 2016–17 season.
For the 2018–19 season, DS ended its relationship Virgin and moved to partner with Techeetah. The newly renamed DS Techeetah, using the DS E-Tense FE 19 powertrain, won both the drivers and teams championships with Jean-Eric Vergne while becoming Formula E's first two-time drivers champion. This feat was repeated in the following season with António Félix da Costa becoming driver's champion and DS Techeetah winning the teams title for 2019–20.
The partnership with Techeetah ended at after the 2021–22 season. DS then partnered with Penske Autosport to create DS Penske from the 2022–23 season. In March 2026, DS announced that they will exit the series at the end of the 2025–26 season. DS ended their run in Formula E with a race victory in the final race of the season through Taylor Barnard.
Results
Year Team Chassis Powertrain Tyres No. Drivers Points 2015–16 DS Virgin Racing Spark SRT01-e Virgin Racing Engineering DSV-01 2 Sam Bird 144 3rd 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2016–17 DS Virgin DSV-02 2 Sam Bird 190 4th 37 José María López Alex Lynn 2017–18 DS Virgin DSV-03 2 Sam Bird 160 3rd 36 Alex Lynn 2018–19 DS Techeetah Spark SRT05e DS E-TENSE FE19 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 222 1st 36 André Lotterer 2019–20 DS E-TENSE FE20 13 António Félix da Costa 244 1st 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2020–21 DS E-TENSE FE20DS E-TENSE FE21 13 António Félix da Costa 166 3rd 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2021–22 DS Techeetah DS E-TENSE FE21 13 António Félix da Costa 266 3rd 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2022–23 DS Penske Formula E Gen3 DS E-TENSE FE23 1 Stoffel Vandoorne 163 5th 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2023–24 2 Stoffel Vandoorne 200 3rd 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2024–25 Formula E Gen3 Evo DS E-TENSE FE25 7 Maximilian Günther 184 5th 25 Jean-Éric Vergne 2025–26 7 Maximilian Günther 91 9th 77 Taylor Barnard
See also DS Vehicles
References
External links