It's now eight years since DS became a standalone brand, having previously been a part of Citroën. Now it has a range of four models that it can truly call its own.
However, the French premium brand is much smaller than now in the UK than it was when selling models like the Citroën DS3 supermini, which at its peak accounted accounted for around 0.8% market share on its own. It now sits at 0.24% UK market share.
DS sales in the UK as a standalone brand peaked at 15,898 in 2016, dropping to 2379 in 2020 after the DS 3 went off sale in 2019.
It has returned to growth in 2022, with sales up by more than 70% to the end of November off the back of the launch of the DS 4 family hatchback, and next year it will bring revised versions of the DS 3 crossover and DS 7 SUV. Its dealer network is growing, too.
The goal remains for DS to make itself a credible alternative to the established German premium brands – and to do so by growing profitably, rather than chase volume.
Since its 2014 launch, it has sold more than 500,000 models globally.
We recently sat down with DS CEO Béatrice Foucher and UK boss Jules Tilstone (who in January will move to head up Jeep UK) to reflect on the progress the brand has made both globally and in the UK, and its plans for 2023.
How would you rate the UK performance of DS to date?
BF "We did a lot. What has been delivered during the last years is creating and increasing the awareness of the brand. As these increased, the sales increased, the percentage of LEVs [electrified models] increased, reaching more than 50%, and we increased the market share by 50%. We still have a lot to do, because when you're here [in the UK], you don't see so many DS cars. We have to increase the awareness and increase the consideration for the brand. So yes, we did a lot. But we still have a lot to do in the market.
JT "We know that the UK market is a complex market. It's the second-largest premium market in Europe, outside of Germany. The German brands dominate. But actually, you see that there's demand for alternatives to the German manufacturers. Lexus is strong in the UK versus other European markets. So we know that there's a demand there for something different to the established premium brands, and what we're seeing now is that we're delivering something that resonates well with an audience in the UK. We've grown organically in terms of the line-up. We're at a point now where we've got four cars that cover more than 50% of the premium market in terms of the segments."
You say you have a lot to do. What specifically do you want to do?
BF "We have in front of us a big potential in the UK premium market, so we have to take a piece of the cake. We did already, but as you see, we're very little, so we have to be humble. But we need to grow. We have the cars, but how do we get people buying the cars? It's very important to really illustrate the brand awareness and the brand attractiveness."
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