Discussion
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/ds/365327/new-ds-no8...
I will admit I do like DS , but I especially like this new DS no 8. Looks big, wafty, overly designed , mad interior as a great French barge should. I especially like the black bonnet on white colour scheme:
They will sell at most 20 or so here I expect, but I bet it will look good gliding down a road and those mad 20 or so buyers willl enjoy silently wafting about in that thing.
I will admit I do like DS , but I especially like this new DS no 8. Looks big, wafty, overly designed , mad interior as a great French barge should. I especially like the black bonnet on white colour scheme:
They will sell at most 20 or so here I expect, but I bet it will look good gliding down a road and those mad 20 or so buyers willl enjoy silently wafting about in that thing.
I think it's a very interesting car, and I hope to go and have a look soon. The 450 mile range is particularly impressive.
I am not a fan of the LED grille stuff, the plain grille looks much better IMHO.
No physical heater controls, but when the interior looks like this, who cares
It's a shame there is no ICE version. As a previous DS5 and DS9 owner I would buy an ICE version. I'm just not ready for BEV yet. I can't charge at home and the cost and reliability of public chargers isn't there yet. I suspect they made the BEV only decision some time ago when they thought BEVs would be better adopted. I reckon that if they were making that decision again, they would do an ICE version. Maybe they still will. If so, they can have my money
They will sell a tiny number as you say. I suspect most of them will be dealer demonstrators that then go into the approved used market. I also suspect that DS will do ridiculous discounts on these.
I think that DS have realised something that other manufacturers haven't. China is moving into the car business very fast, and will doubtless dominate the "car as white goods" segment. European companies need to find a new USP. And boutique design is a good USP. It's the same way that the luxury couture brands make money. They offer design, heritage and quality that one cannot find elsewhere. So DS want to be more like Chanel or Hermes, which is IMHO a good model.
But they do have issues. Chanel and the other luxury brands make small numbers of goods. In the car industry that doesn't really work unless you charge crazy money like the coachbuilders do. You need volume to justify the massive tooling costs, although you can reduce it with parts bin sharing. Also, the designs have to be really special. I remember reading an interview with the head of DS where he was strongly hinting that he wanted to do loads of cool stuff but Stellantis management wouldn't let him. In particular he had a real version of a recent DS concept car pretty much ready to go but (he said) Stellantis management were blocking it.
I admire DS for producing this car even though they must know it will be another DS9 sales wise.
I am not a fan of the LED grille stuff, the plain grille looks much better IMHO.
No physical heater controls, but when the interior looks like this, who cares
It's a shame there is no ICE version. As a previous DS5 and DS9 owner I would buy an ICE version. I'm just not ready for BEV yet. I can't charge at home and the cost and reliability of public chargers isn't there yet. I suspect they made the BEV only decision some time ago when they thought BEVs would be better adopted. I reckon that if they were making that decision again, they would do an ICE version. Maybe they still will. If so, they can have my money
They will sell a tiny number as you say. I suspect most of them will be dealer demonstrators that then go into the approved used market. I also suspect that DS will do ridiculous discounts on these.
I think that DS have realised something that other manufacturers haven't. China is moving into the car business very fast, and will doubtless dominate the "car as white goods" segment. European companies need to find a new USP. And boutique design is a good USP. It's the same way that the luxury couture brands make money. They offer design, heritage and quality that one cannot find elsewhere. So DS want to be more like Chanel or Hermes, which is IMHO a good model.
But they do have issues. Chanel and the other luxury brands make small numbers of goods. In the car industry that doesn't really work unless you charge crazy money like the coachbuilders do. You need volume to justify the massive tooling costs, although you can reduce it with parts bin sharing. Also, the designs have to be really special. I remember reading an interview with the head of DS where he was strongly hinting that he wanted to do loads of cool stuff but Stellantis management wouldn't let him. In particular he had a real version of a recent DS concept car pretty much ready to go but (he said) Stellantis management were blocking it.
I admire DS for producing this car even though they must know it will be another DS9 sales wise.
https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/ds-auto...
You will need to be able to read French (or use a translator). But according to them, there will be a mild hybrid version of the DS no. 8, in Spring 2026
So we have about a year to wait.
L'Argus are in my experience pretty reliable when it comes to this stuff.
It would make sense to me. DS originally said that they would go electric-only, but BEV take up has been well below expectations, across the industry. DS are already a niche proposition and are struggling for market share. It would be crazy to turn away potential purchasers who love the cars but are not ready for a BEV. I know that Jaguar have gone down this path, but they now want to compete in the £100k plus segment, which is surely a very different demographic. And, er, good luck to them.
I would not be surprised if DS accelerate its introduction and it lands some time this year.
You will need to be able to read French (or use a translator). But according to them, there will be a mild hybrid version of the DS no. 8, in Spring 2026
So we have about a year to wait.L'Argus are in my experience pretty reliable when it comes to this stuff.
It would make sense to me. DS originally said that they would go electric-only, but BEV take up has been well below expectations, across the industry. DS are already a niche proposition and are struggling for market share. It would be crazy to turn away potential purchasers who love the cars but are not ready for a BEV. I know that Jaguar have gone down this path, but they now want to compete in the £100k plus segment, which is surely a very different demographic. And, er, good luck to them.
I would not be surprised if DS accelerate its introduction and it lands some time this year.
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