It’s the first of Stellantis’s brands to adopt an EV-only strategy and will cease selling new petrol and diesel cars from 2024, with “every new DS Automobiles models available exclusively with a 100 per cent electric powertrain”.
Becoming an EV-only brand is a natural step for DS, which has offered a range of electrified cars – predominantly PHEVs – since 2019 through its E-TENSE offering. At present, 30 per cent of its registrations across Europe are electrified and this multi-energy approach has led to a fleet average of 83.1g/km of CO2 according to the WLTP cycle.
However, come 2024 you can scratch tailpipe emissions from all DS’s cars. Highlights will include a fully electric version of the DS 4, currently available as a PHEV, which is one of the brands best selling models. It’ll also unveil the first car to be based on the 100 per cent electric STLA MEDIUM platform which was announced by Stellantis back in July.
This will offer over 400 miles of range thanks to a whopping 104kWh battery pack and two new battery chemistries that will increase energy density and also offer a nickel cobalt-free alternative. DS is also promising a new design direction, high levels of tech and the refinement that defines the brand’s cars.
“The car industry is experiencing a change whose breadth and speed are unprecedented,” said Béatrice Foucher, CEO at DS Automobiles. “As a pioneer, DS Automobiles has anticipated this move, with electrification at the centre of its strategy. The next developments in legislation and the EV ecosystem provide opportunities that we want to offer to our customers who already like our electrified range.”
As well as the cars themselves, DS will work on reducing the carbon footprint of its production and throw resources at energy transition “through the development of innovative materials”.
DS is the first brand under the Stellantis umbrella to go fully EV, but the 13 other major brands will follow suit in quick succession thereafter. Vauxhall will be EV only by 2028 and by 2030 petrol and diesel will by far and away the minority of Stellantis’s business.
Its plans include 70 per cent of its passenger car mix to be low emissions vehicles by 2030 in Europe, though this figure is just 40 per cent in the USA. Four platforms will underpin new electric models with the STLA Small platform offering up to 300 miles, the aforementioned Medium platform 440 miles, Large platform up to 500 miles, and the Frame platform – for trucks and LGVs – up to 500 miles.
We’re expecting Stellantis to continue releasing information around other brands over the coming months.
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