DS

The DS line of vehicles was introduced by French car maker Citroën in late 2009. At first under the DS subbrand, but the company decided to turn DS into a stand-alone brand to distinguish its premium offerings from the mainstream Citroën vehicles. The name DS (pronounced déesse in French, which means goddess) is intended to remind of the very successful and very advanced 1955-1975 Citroën DS executive car.

The French are aiming for the huge Chinese car market as well with their DS brand, in order to benefit from high demand for European luxury products in that part of the world. The European line-up of the brand consist of 3 models, while the Chinese also get a compact crossover, which unfortunately wasn’t developed for the European market, a big mistake from the product planners at PSA.

The subcompact DS3 was the first model to be launched in late 2009. It’s a sporty 3-door hatchback based on the five-door Citroën C3. A mild facelift in 2015 didn’t help the DS3 reverse its sales slide and better compete with its main rivals Mini hardtop, Audi A1 and Alfa Romeo MiTo.

The DS4 is a compact hatchback with hidden rear door handles to make it look like a coupe. Launched in 2010, the DS4 is technically based on the Citroën C4, but was designed with more emphasis on style than practicality. It was also facelifted in 2015 as the brand separated from Citroën. There have been rumors that the next generation may become a four-door coupe with a more sedan-like roofline, much like the Mercedes-Benz CLA and Audi A3 Limousine.

The midsized hatchback DS5 is based on the Citroën C5 and was introduced in 2011. It was facelifted in 2015 to give it the new DS “wing” grille and is the first DS model that carries no Citroën logos anymore. In 2017, the brand will finally launch its long-awaited first crossover, the DS7 Crossback, which is the first model of a product offensive by the brand, hoping to reverse its fortunes and become a respected luxury brand.

In June 2015, DS celebrated 500.000 cumulative sales in Europe. It’s taken the brand 5,5 years to hit that half-a-million milestone.

Also find DS China sales figures.

 

 

Use the dropdown at the top right of this page to find sales figures for the DS3, DS4, DS5, DS3 Crossback, DS7 Crossback and any other car model sold in Europe since the early 2000’s.

• DS3

  

• DS4

  

• DS5

  

• DS7 Crossback

  

• DS3 Crossback

  

 

Use the dropdown at the top right of this page to find sales figures for any other car model sold in Europe since the early 2000’s.

Car sales statistics are from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. Sources: Manufacturers, ANDC, JATO Dynamics.

 

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