DS to go electric-only in 2024 with first bespoke EV

French manufacturer DS Automobiles will mark its reinvention as an electric-only brand in 2024 with a new full electric version of the DS 4 hatchback and its first bespoke EV.

The firm confirmed earlier this year that it will switch to a fully electric global line-up in 2024, one year earlier than originally planned and four years earlier than other Stellantis-owned brands.

DS has revealed that it will launch a new EV version of the recently revealed DS 4 – currently available in plug-in hybrid form – in 2024. That model will also be joined by the firm's first electric-only model, which will also be the first bespoke EV built on Stellantis's STLA Medium platform.

That architecture is designed for C- and D-segment vehicles, although DS has yet to detail what form the new model will take. However, it has confirmed plans for the new machine to feature a "high-capacity battery with up to 104kWh" of capacity, which it claims will allow for a range of more than 400 miles. 

DS boss Béatrice Foucher called the decision to make the brand all-electric by 2024 "a daring plan". She added: "The car industry is experiencing a change whose breadth and speed are unprecedented. As a pioneer, DS Automobiles has anticipated this move, with electrification at the centre of its strategy."

The EV-only move had been hinted at recently by Jules Tilstone, managing director of DS UK. After Stellantis announced that all of its segments were in profit in the first half of this year, with an average 11.4% margin, he tweeted: “It’s been a turbulent time for the automotive industry, but great to see the Stellantis teams pulling together to deliver such a fantastic result. We’ve also announced that from 2024 all new models from DS will be launched as full electric only.”

DS originally announced it would move to electric-only from 2025, while other Stellantis-owned brands, including Opel and Vauxhall, will begin to switch from 2028.

DS currently has several electrified models on sale, including the electric DS 3 Crossback E-Tense and plug-in hybrid versions of the DS 3 Crossback, DS 7 Crossback and DS 9. Existing ICE models will see out their lifecycle as scheduled beyond the 2024 date. 

"Our ambition is very clear: for DS to be among the global leaders in electrified cars in its segment,” said DS’s then CEO, Yves Bonnefont, in 2018. Current CEO Foucher previously said she was “not happy” with the brand’s sales performance in the UK but was confident that new models could provide a springboard into a “very large and competitive” premium market.

Stellantis is pressing ahead with an accelerated EV strategy, with plans to launch 11 battery-electric vehicles and 10 plug-in hybrid vehicles over the next 24 months.