AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/04 Report--

The DS brand sold 120 vehicles in China in July, down 30.6% from a year earlier, with cumulative sales of 1841 vehicles from January to July, down 16.1% from a year earlier. With such depressed sales, it is almost difficult for the Changan Peugeot Citroen factory in Shenzhen to operate normally.

According to media reports, DS is currently caught in a storm of dealers withdrawing from the net. there were originally three dealers in Beijing, but now one has withdrawn from the network, the other retains after-sales service, and the third continues to sell normally in conjunction with Dongfeng Peugeot, but only DS7 is on sale in this store. At its peak, DS had a network of 211 dealers in China. According to the official website, there are only more than 70 left, and half of the dealers indicated that they only provide after-sales service.

Changan Peugeot Citroen Automobile Co., Ltd. was formally established by Changan Automobile and French PSA Group in November 2011. both parties hold 50% of the shares, with headquarters and factories in Shenzhen, with an initial investment of 8.425 billion yuan. Since becoming domestically made, DS sales peaked at 27000 in 2014 and 2015, then plummeted to 16000 in 2016, 5800 in 2017 and only 3867 in 2018.

Even with the serious decline in sales and the stagnation of products, Changan Automobile and PSA Group have not given up the development of DS in China. At the beginning of 2018, Changan Automobile and PSA Group announced that they would increase their capital by 1.8 billion yuan, totaling 3.6 billion yuan, to the joint venture Changan Peugeot Citroen Motor Co., Ltd in the form of cash to solve the company's daily operation and improve its operation.

After completing the capital increase, the domestic DS 7 was officially listed at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2018, with a price of 20.89-309900 yuan, which is regarded as a turnaround of DS. Last year, the DS 7 sold a total of 2244 vehicles, compared with 657 from January to July 2019. Although it has become the main sales model of DS, the depressed sales performance has not improved.

In 2019, DS proposed a trust plan, an integrated dealer network and a new car plan to enhance brand competitiveness and save declining sales in the Chinese market.

In March, DS officially released to the market and consumers the brand recovery plan of the DS Trust Program, which includes brand and product enhancement, city marketing plan and customer satisfaction, with the aim of regaining customer trust and enabling dealer partners to build continuous trust in the brand. DS also said that "will never give up the Chinese market" and unswervingly adhere to the luxury brand line.

Meng Nuo, president of Changan PSA, said, "the DS brand is still relatively minority in the Chinese market. At present, the first thing we need to do is to attract users and better target customers." Meng Nuo revealed that this year, the DS brand will further integrate the dealer network and strengthen communication with dealers on the basis of enhancing brand marketing and strengthening brand confidence, so as to improve the profitability of dealers.

According to the new car plan, DS will launch a new model to the Chinese market every year, and the new car in 2019 will be a D-class sedan.

According to sources, the new flagship car that DS will launch in the Chinese market will compete with the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The car is expected to be named "DS 8" and uses the same infrastructure as the Peugeot 508L with a longer wheelbase. Foreign media expect PSA to display the DS 8 model at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November.

As the Chinese market enters the stock competition, the market pattern is basically determined, and the living space for minority brands will become narrower and narrower. Changan Peugeot Citroen lost 1 billion yuan in 2018, DS brand encountered difficult times, but also very confused, perhaps not whether to choose to give up the Chinese market, but consumers give up on you, of course, there are brands, products and many other factors.

PSA Group is very determined to save the decline in the Chinese market, and the cruel market will give PSA an answer in the future.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat