The Global CEO of DS, Béatrice Foucher, was visiting Buenos Aires for a few days and on one of them he called a press conference with local media. It was a talk open to all questions in which the executive, who has a long experience of more than thirty years in the automotive industry, answered all the questions.
Let us remember that DS was born as a sub-brand of Citroën, but over time it separated from it to start a path of positioning among the so-called premium brands, a strategy that gave it a positive result since in many markets (including the national one) it competes hand in hand. hand in hand with the “German trident” (Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz). In fact, some DS customers come to the brand because they see it as the gateway to the highest segment of the market, while others were users of one of the three German brands mentioned above.
The launch of new models, the electrified future and the brand’s strategy were some of the topics we talked about with the executive at one of the brand’s agencies, the DS Store in Martínez.
-How do you think the growth of DS Automobiles will be in the premium market?
-DS is having a very good performance in the Argentine premium market, for several reasons. We are very proud of that result. When you buy a DS you are buying much more than a car. You are buying a fashion item, a vehicle with savoir faire, a French product. DS already leads in different segments of the Argentine market and we have room to continue growing and the opportunity and the will to do so. In addition, in the coming years we are going to bring new products to the country.
-What is the strategy to separate DS from Citroën?
-It is very important to talk about this division between Citroën and DS. There are even some journalists who, seven years later, are still asking when these two brands are going to separate. That separation already happened in 2014 and, although it sounds like something abstract, it is important to point out that a division has actually been made: the two brands have completely separated. It was a very fast process. Today they are different teams: each brand has its design center, its factories, engineering departments, dealers, price positioning. And of course we have different messages for customers.
-Which will be and when will these new models you spoke of arrive?
-The first will be DS 7which will arrive in 2023. During that year we will also bring the DS 3. These are updates to the SUV that we already know, although they will no longer carry the word Crossback in the name. We will also launch the new DS 4 E-Tense (plug-in hybrid) and we will bring the DS 3 E-Tense (one hundred percent electric). There will be four launches in total for the Argentine market in 2023, all of renewals of already known products. On a global level, next year we will also see a completely new model. It will not be longer than DS 9but it will be just as big.
-How is the brand’s electrification process progressing globally?
-Starting next year we will offer an E-Tense version on every model in our range. The new DS 3 E-Tense, which we already sell in several markets and will arrive in Argentina in 2023, is the model that marks the path of DS electrification globally. As of 2023, all new launches that are made will be one hundred percent electric vehicles. This will include the Argentine market. Although we will continue to offer models with internal combustion engines until at least 2028.
-Are you going to explore alternative energies such as hydrogen?
-We are exploring all alternative energies. We have had internal combustion engines for a hundred years and today the industry is moving towards electric vehicles. Hydrogen will undoubtedly reach the market. When I was young, about 20 years ago, a competing brand already had hydrogen car prototypes (BMW 7 Series), but it is a process that is still under development.
-Do you think that Argentina will be ready in 2025 for the arrival of one hundred percent electric cars?
-I started working with electric cars in 2012. At that time you didn’t see charging stations on the street, but you did see them in houses, where there was always electricity. 80 percent of electric car charges are made in homes, although work must also be done to have a charging infrastructure in cities and on routes. Undoubtedly, it is a process that takes time. It’s like “the chicken and the egg”: do we wait for charging installations to launch our electric cars or do we launch them to generate demand that encourages the installation of charging infrastructure? I think we should all work so that electrification is progressive, but incessant. Of course, at first a country is not prepared, but the technology is advancing, both among car manufacturers and suppliers of, for example, chargers.
-In Argentina, DS is the leader in the premium segment with the DS 7 Crossback. In what other country did they reach this share?
-The performance of the Argentine market is fantastic. We are also doing very well in Europe and in markets like Turkey. Argentina is one of the markets where we are performing very well, we are among the top three DS markets in terms of market share. In France we are leaders with the DS 7 and the DS 4 is growing month after month: in September we had a record number of orders for this model.
-Where do DS customers come from? What brands is DS taking consumers away from?
-We are mainly attracting customers from general brands that are moving to the premium segment. They came to DS because of the history, they knew the dealers and they saw that they could access the brand. General brand customers feel that they access the premium segment through DS by taking one step and not two, because it is not a brand that has the show-off of other competitors. On a global level, the first premium brand that we are gaining customers from is Mercedes-Benz. Since the launch of the DS 7 Crossback in Argentina, many of our customers come from the premium market and come from the three German brands.
-Electric cars are more expensive than “conventional” ones, both in terms of sales price and production costs. Is that an advantage of premium brands over generalists?
-Indeed, the cost of batteries is very high. Being a premium brand we can absorb that cost more easily. This may not be seen so quickly in the Argentine market, but it is the path we are going to follow.
Beatrice Foucher Organic
With 32 years of experience in the automotive industry, Foucher has a Master of Engineering in Agronomic Sciences at AgroParisTech and a Master of Science in Quality and Audit at ESCP Business School & Centrale Supelec in France.
He worked in the Quality, Product Planning, Program, HR Talent Development and Brand Development departments. She joined the Renault Group in 1990 as Quality Audit. She then moved to the Product Planning department, where she successively held the positions of Product Manager, High-End Director and, ultimately, Product Planning Director between 2007 and 2012. During those 5 years she led the internationalization of the group’s product range. In 2012, she became VP of the Electric Vehicle Program for 4 product development, making technology, planning and profitability decisions. Between 2015 and 2019 she assumed the responsibility of VP of Talent Management for the Alliance. In 2019, she joined Groupe PSA as SVP of Talent Management. her before being quickly appointed CEO of DS Automobiles and member of the Global Executive Committee of the PSA Group.