Car UK May 2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1
UK deliveries of the baby Crossback with internal combus-
tion engines start next month, then a pure electric version
follows late in the year with around 200 miles of range. DS
is charged with being PSA Groupe’s tech incubator, helping
amortise R&D expenses with its higher sticker prices; every new
DS will have either a plug-in hybrid or pure EV derivative, before
solely combustion-engined models die out from 2025.
This is why Ribault is ploughing his marketing budget into
the Formula E electric race series. ‘Two things we bring from
competition to road cars. One is data management software
for energy [flow], the other is energy regeneration. The DS 3
E-Tense will regenerate 25 per cent of its range in city driving.’
But it’s not just about technology transfer. Formula E has
a following in the important Chinese market, and DS has
doubled down on that by switching its partnership from
Virgin Racing to Chinese team Techeeta. Ribault claims the
series generates more media exposure than the World Rally
Championship, and its big city street races attract a younger,
more progressive demographic than circuit racing. And it’s a
perfect place for DS to gain legitimacy by competing with rival
premium brands: BMW, Jaguar and Audi this season, Mercedes
and Porsche factory teams the next.
It can only help boost awareness: the brand registered just

A

rnaud Ribault joined Citroën straight out of busi-
ness school, captivated by the company’s Traction
Avant, the ’30s model that popularised front-wheel
drive, the ’50s DS with looks and technology from
the future, and its wedgy ’90s tribute act the XM. Having worked
for the group all his career, Ribault’s a Citroën guy to the core.
Except when he’s not.
Ribault is now the marketing mastermind attempting to
establish DS Automobiles as a standalone French luxury brand,
spun off from its Citroën parent four years ago. The recipe is
a network of bespoke stores offering higher-grade customer
service and convenience, to underpin six all-new cars in the
space of six years.
The first was last year’s DS 7 Crossback, an Audi Q3 SUV rival;
this year’s offering is the DS 3 Crossback – a supermini-sized
SUV. It will be the baby of the range, which means no direct
replacement for the DS 3 hatchback, a big success in the UK.
‘The marketing playbook says if you have a good product,
stick with it,’ explains the 46-year-old executive. ‘But our road
map is [only] to have six cars. The decision was not just about
replacing DS 3 but building a brand. You can’t build it in small
premium hatchbacks; we have more [global] potential with an
SUV, a longer car with five doors.’

‘We can

do much

better in

the UK’

Fluent in French automotive iconography, can Arnaud Ribault bring some of that magic to DS?

ArnAUd r ibAUlt
DS SAleS A n D
m ARketing chieF

illustration

chris Rathbone

The CAR
inquisition


20 cARmAgAZine.c O.Uk | MAY 2019
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