DS 4 will target German leaders in compact segment

PARIS -- The next model from PSA Group’s premium brand DS will be the DS 4, a compact car built in Germany on a new version of the automaker’s EMP2 platform.

The DS 4 will appear in the second half of 2021, with three main powertrains: A 225 hp plug-in hybrid version, and diesel and gasoline internal combustion versions. 

DS revealed details of the DS 4’s technology in an online event on Wednesday, but said the new model’s design would be shown in full early next year. There will be two versions of the DS 4, product chief Marion David said, with one having more traditional proportions and the other more SUV-like, although she did not provide more details.

Design director Thierry Metroz said the DS 4 would carry over a number of elements from the 2019 Aero Sport Lounge concept, a coupe-styled four-door crossover. Like the Aero Sport Lounge, the DS 4 will have long, vertical front running lights, and will have a similar steeply raked C pillar.

Metroz said the DS 4 would have similar proportions to the previous generation Mercedes-Benz GLA, which this year has been repositioned as a crossover/SUV, as well as the Lexus UX. 

The DS 4 will compete in the compact premium segment, which has been dominated by German brands. The Mercedes A-Class was the top seller in the first half of 2020, with 59,302 sales, ahead of the BMW 1 Series with 44,473, according to data from JATO Dynamics. The Audi A3 was third with 34,365 sales, followed by the Mercedes CLA, the Mercedes B-Class and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer/Gran Tourer. There were 746,612 sales in the segment in 2019, a decline of 1.4 percent from 2018.

The previous DS 4 was adapted from a Citroen design; the new DS 4 is the fourth model of a six-model product plan that began in 2017 with the DS 7 compact SUV, followed by the DS 3 small SUV and the DS 9 midsize sedan. 

The DS 4 is the first announced PSA model on the revamped EMP2 platform, which is used for compact and midsize vehicles throughout the group’s four brands. The newer platform allows for a lower hood/fender line and improved aerodynamics, said Sebastien Jacquet, senior vice president of vehicle programs at PSA. 

Other improvements to the platform include a lower overall weight through the use of composite materials, hot-pressed structural parts and use of smaller components such as a new air-conditioning units, DS said. Extensive use of adhesives and new suspension and steering components improve ride and noise, vibration and harshness performance, Jacquet said. 

The DS 4 will also use a new generation of plug-in hybrid drivetrain, which initially will combine a 180 hp 4-cylinder gasoline engine and a 110 hp electric motor for a combined output of 225 hp. Electric-only range will be “more than 50 km,” or 31 miles, on a 12.4 kilowatt battery, DS executives said. A less-powerful version aimed at fleet buyers will appear later.

“The challenge for the DS 4 is to fit all the technology in the DS 7 in a smaller package,” Jacquet said. 

PSA Group also builds compact cars, including the new Citroen C4, on the CMP platform, which unlike EMP2 is designed to accommodate a full-electric drivetrain. Jacquet said that plug-in hybrids were a better electrification solution for the DS 4’s intended buyers, who would use it for long trips.

New technology will also debut in the DS 4’s interior, including an “extended head-up display” that projects information such as speed and navigation on the road ahead. A new infotainment system called DS Iris uses individual profiles to react to voice and gestures. A small screen on the center console reacts to touch and gestures to call up six favorite functions. 

DS has also redesigned interior ventilation to reduce the size of the vent while still providing normal airflow and increasing the directionality of the flow.

The DS 4 will be built in Ruesselsheim, Germany, in Opel' factory. The plant currently builds the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia midsize car, based on an older GM platform. In addition to the DS 4, it will also assemble the next generation of Opel/Vauxhall Astra on the revised EMP2 platform. Production of the DS 4 will begin next summer.