New models vital to DS’ survival as UK sales hit record low

It will now be considered a “specialty” brand (alongside Lancia, which is being rolled back into Fiat), but it remains to be seen what that means for its global sales network.

N°3: Small car, big hopes

Citroën’s influence will manifest in the replacement for the DS 3, named the N°3. This is tipped to return to a more traditional supermini body. It will draw on the Mk1 Citroën DS3, the chic spin-off of the Citroën C3 that was successful enough to justify launching DS as a brand in its own right.

The Mk1 car was retired in 2018 and replaced by the current-generation crossover a year later. The brand’s sales immediately plummeted and they have yet to recover.

Some 3000 examples of the DS 3 supermini were sold in the UK in 2018, compared with just over 2000 examples of the higher-riding 3 Crossback in 2019. That year was the crossover’s best result for sales, which have fallen every year since, with just 133 registered in 2025.

DS’s decision to return to the traditional supermini market could be the first step towards claiming some meaningful volume in the UK and mainland Europe.

Speaking to Autocar last year, DS design director Thierry Métroz said it would take inspiration from the Mk1 car “because it was so successful on the market”.

He added: “We sold 500,000 DS 3 gen-ones. It was a success story. It had many, many customers in France, but also in the UK.”

CEO Peugeot said he believed DS is “now in a position to recapitalise on this success story, based on the launch of these new products”, referring to the N°4, N°7 and N°8. But he added that the brand’s previous best annual result of around 55,000 sales has to become the baseline.

The success of the Renault 5 and Peugeot 208 gives reassurance of the N°3’s potential, but it could still be a year from showrooms, so DS’s larger models must work hard to sustain its UK operations in the meantime.

How DS sales have fallen in the UK