DS wants to compete with Bentley and Rolls-Royce

The next competitor of Bentley and Rolls-Royce could come from DS. At least, these are the intentions of the French brand, which wants to penetrate the more luxurious segments of the market from its current premium positioning.

The brand's plans were explained by Thierry Métroz, DS's design director, in an interview with Autocar at the Brussels Motor Show, where the French manufacturer's top-of-the-range electric model, the new N°8, was unveiled.

Long-term goal

Without mincing words, Métroz admitted that "the mission is to become a luxury brand". However, he also admitted that this long-term goal may never be achieved. Certainly, Métroz added, it is "a very difficult task, since the brand was only born in 2014 and it can take 10, 20 or more years to change its positioning".

This "dream" (as DS defined it) is based above all on the quality of the details, with the N°8 - again in the words of the French manager - already inspired by Bentley, at least in terms of the choice of materials and their finishes.

A new course

When asked how DS can give a real sense of luxury to its cars with the joint Stellantis platform (which mainly produces volume models that are protagonists in so many different segments), Métroz replied that it is "difficult", although the brand has the possibility of changing important parts of the structure, such as lowering the roofline and retracting the windshield, to achieve other proportions.

According to DS, no sales target has been set for the N°8, but the goal is to "build a very high-quality car with a pleasant design that focuses on the quality of the interior". At the same time, Métroz confirmed that the new versions of the DS 7 and DS 4 (which will be renamed N°7 and N°4) will have "the same spirit" as the N°8.