The first DS model produced in Italy, the brand's future workhorse, will be launched in the first half of 2025 and offered exclusively in an electric version.

Olivier François, managing director of one of Stellantis' premium brands, said this.

The car, which will have large, D-segment dimensions and a range of more than 700 kilometers, will be the brand's new flagship. It will be unveiled at the end of 2024 and will replace the current Chinese-built DS9, production of which will cease in Shenzhen in line with Stellantis' new "asset light" strategy - based exclusively on licensed production and imports - for the Chinese market.

The other current DS models are assembled in France and Germany.

"There is a massive presence in the non-automotive French premium world, so there is no reason why there should not be a French automotive premium," the CEO said at the presentation of a special edition of the range, titled "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Collection," at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget.

"I have to give DS a very strong and somewhat irreplaceable personality," he added. "I would like to see a stronger and more unique design in the future."

The youngest of the group's brands, formed by the merger of Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has played the French luxury and elegance card since its creation a decade ago, but it is still trying to carve out a space for itself in the premium market, which is dominated in particular by German and Japanese brands.

Last year, sales remained stable at about 56,400 units, 87 percent of which were sold in Europe, with four models, DS3, DS4, DS7 and DS9. However, the company now also faces competition from 100% electric, American and Chinese new entrants.

"We have to be able to have the best of both worlds, namely the somewhat cool side (...) of the young brand and the pride (...) of a brand that has been iconic for 70 years," François added, referring to the famous 1955 Citroën DS, which has always been the inspiration for the DS brand.

(Translated by Camilla Borri, editing Gianluca Semeraro)