DS rejects SUV, but retro design

DS Automobiles recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, but the brand has never had much purpose, which is one reason why it was mentioned after Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares threatened to remove unprofitable brands from the lineup.

Despite these challenges, the French brand remains undaunted and is looking toward a brighter future. However, to achieve this, they are looking to their past for inspiration.

More: DS launches the SM Tribute concept car to celebrate its 10th anniversary

In fact, they are going back to square one, reportedly developing a modern successor to the Citroën DS. DS design director Thierry Métroz told Top Gear that CEO Olivier François “is pushing us to have a closer connection to our history in terms of storytelling and design” because “history is what differentiates us from the new wave of Chinese cars,” which “have no emotional connection.”

Métroz goes on to say that they are working on a new DS, which will apparently follow the same philosophy as the SM Tribute concept. The model will apparently showcase their future design language, and the publication suggests that it could debut at next year’s Retromobile, as 2025 will mark the 70th anniversary of the Citroën DS.

While that’s interesting, it sounds like the design language is more important than the cars themselves. Specifically, Métroz said, “I wanted to keep the connection to the original DS, but do it in a different silhouette, do it in a different size car, and make it work for the full lineup.” He went on to mention “super low, elegant, (and) long silhouette” and “a design strategy that works for the full range of cars.”

It is worth noting that Métroz said that they would “no longer launch SUVs” because “there is no shortage of SUVs within the group” and “SUVs are not the best embodiment of French luxury.” This decision alone is commendable, and the designers said that they hope to become the “Louis Vuitton of the automotive industry.”