6:05 am, December 15, 2014
A NEW network of Citroen dealerships selling only DS models will be rolled out in the UK.
Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer, Citroen’s Eric Apode, who is vice-president of products and business development, said the first showroom should open in the UK before next summer.
The plan is to open DS showrooms in major cities, and especially targeting wealthy areas.
DS-only showrooms have already opened in other countries.
Some Citroen dealers will continue to sell DS models, though.
Citroen’s strategy is to separate the DS brand – in the same way Lexus was successfully marketed as the luxury arm of Toyota – and, as the brand grows, to open exclusive DS stores.
In the short term, some current Citroen showrooms may be expanded to have a separate DS section. In the next few years, the DS range will be increase from three models to six, including a new SUV.
Apode said: ‘We are right at the beginning is the story of the DS. When the market is big enough, we will open some DS stores – we opened one recently in France. We will gradually open more and more, but at the same time we want to leverage the existing Citroen dealers and will continue to sell the DS there, too. We will have separate DS stores when the market is big enough.
‘The strategy at the moment is to open DS stores in 200 of the most important cities in the world, in all the major regions, including the UK.
‘I can’t give you a precise date when the first DS store will open in the UK, but we are looking at the first half of the new year.’
Apode added Citroen has been delighted with the sale of the DS3 in the UK, but the sales of the DS4 in these shores has been disappointing. One thought is the DS4 is simply too similar to the C4.
