Citroen’s DS Cars On American Roads Might Really Happen

What sounded like a far-fetched dream last year is inching closer to reality: French cars could return to American shores in the next few years through PSA’s premium DS brand.

According to sources with Car&Driver, a DS launch in North America is more likely than it was last year. The case for DS, which is also banking heavily on Peugeot and Citroen’s success in China and that market’s appetite for upscale brands like Audi.

If DS were to arrive by the start of the 2020s, it would end a 30-year drought of French cars for the U.S. market, after Peugeot pulled out in 1991. Renault ended sales to Americans in 1987, though its designs carried forward with the Eagle Medallion and Eagle Premier under Chrysler ownership until 1992. And Citroen fled when 1974 U.S. regulations made the SM unsaleable.

A DS debut in the States isn’t so laughable considering the success Audi, BMW and Mercedes have had in recent years with an expansive, premium-priced range. DS has its core DS 3, 4 and 5 models in Europe, along with a sedan and SUV for China. In order to spread those development costs around, DS needs more markets.

But considering even Peugeot hasn’t had a dealer network in the U.S. for more than three decades, and lacks an American partner like Fiat had when it relaunched here in 2011, it will be a costly and risky bet for PSA.

Still, I’m all for more choice when it comes to U.S.-bound cars.

Note: DS Divine Concept pictured above