The long-awaited return of Peugeot Citroen to North America could be in the form of their new premium DS brand, but don't get your hopes up just yet.
Automotive News is reporting that the DS brand has ambitions to become a global premium brand – and according to DS brand CEO Yves Bonnefort, "and you cannot be global without the U.S."
Bonnefort said that a decision wouldn't be made until 2017, with sales not commencing until after 2020. Presumably, this would give PSA a chance to develop U.S. compliant models. DS models are currently based off of existing Citroen products, largely front-drive based smaller cars and crossovers.
Launching a new brand, and a premium one at that, is an incredibly expensive endeavor – figure about $1 billion by the time all is said and done. Whether it's worth it for PSA to try and launch a premium brand in a mature market that has traditionally not taken to French cars is a matter that they'll have to decide for themselves. Not long ago, PSA seemed to be on the ropes. Concentrating on their core business (mainstream cars) in their traditional markets (France and the developing economies of Africa, Asia and other European nations) might serve them better than a vanity project such as this.
The post DS Brand Could Spearhead PSA's American Revival appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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