Citroen to revive iconic DS badge

Citroen will revive its legendary DS badge for a new range of near-premium models, industry sources said.

The French brand will unveil plans for the new DS range on Wednesday, when the carmaker launches a global rebranding campaign.

A concept previewing the first DS-badged model, a DS3 small car, will debut at the Geneva motor show in March. The DS3 will go on sale in the first half of 2010.

The second car in the range, the lower-medium DS4, will debut in the first half of 2011. The third model will be the DS5 upper-medium car, which is planned to go into showrooms by the end of 2011.

The DS range will complement Citroen's C3, C4 and C5 cars. The DS-badged cars will be sold at higher prices, allowing Citroen to win additional sales at bigger margins without high extra production costs.

Citroen's first DS became a style icon in the 1950s and 1960s because of its futuristic, aerodynamic body design. The sedan was sold between 1955 and 1975.

By Luca Ciferri- Automotive News Europe