Lately we talked to Béatrice Foucher – CEO of DS Automobiles. Since January 2020, Béatrice is the new CEO of the young French Premium brand DS Automobiles, being part of the Stellantis. Béatrice began her career in 1989 as a quality engineer at the Renault Group. In her new position, her tasks involve the development of DS Automobiles as a premium international brand that embodies French luxury know-how in the automotive industry and is characterised by its avant-garde spirit. Learn more about Béatrice’s career, the chances and challenges of the young brand DS Automobiles on the premium market, what influence Formula E has on the production models, how COVID-19 affected the brand and her experience being a women in the male-dominated automotive industry.

1. What was your first car? Did you always know that you wanted to work in the automotive industry?

My first car belonged to my parents: a Peugeot 205 GTI. Then I had models from different brands, mainly sporty cars such as a Golf GTI, BMW 3 Series… before starting work in the automotive industry.
I always wanted to work in the industry, in a French company, with products I loved. After testing the food and energy industries as an intern, I chose the automotive industry and never left.

2. DS Automobiles is still quite new in the automotive sector. What are the chances and challenges for such a young brand to stand out from all the other premium brands that have been on the market for much longer?

As a stand-alone brand, we are quite young, but we have the fantastic heritage of the classic DS, which has a 65-year history. With its values of innovation, excellence and pioneering, that car showcased French savoir-faire around the world. Today, we have made these values our own during the amazing journey of developing the DS brand. Moreover, we are in a strong multi-brand organisation – Groupe PSA (now Stellantis). 
To build the DS brand, our strategy is based on exceptional products and the premium customer’s journey, with the unique DNA that only DS can express: French luxury savoir-faire. This key differentiation enhances our brand identity. 

3. What influence does Formula E and the current race car, the E-TENSE FE20 have on DS Automobiles production models and why do you think people are so fascinated by speed?

We started our Formula E journey in 2015, in the second ever season of Formula E and we are in it for the long term. Formula E is one of the most exciting forms of motorsport in the world right now and with the business committed to electrification, there is no place we’d rather strengthen our commitment.
We have learned a lot from our participation in FE, and it helps us to implement the technology transfer from competition to road cars.

ELECTRIFICATION AT THE HEART OF DS STRATEGY: «THE NEXT LUXURY»

• High Performance powertrain and driving pleasure (DS 7 CROSSBACK E-TENSE 4x4 = PHEV, 300hp, 4x4; 0 to 1,000 m in 27s.

• DS 3 CROSSBACK E-TENSE = 100% electric, torque of 260 Nm; 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7s )

• Most energy-efficient technology thanks to regenerative braking

• Addressing global environmental challenges (powertrain available worldwide, full-electric, matching any regulations in megacities)

• No compromise on Style/Quality/Refinement

 2-STEP STRATEGY OF ELECTRIFICATION

• 1 - From DS 7 CROSSBACK onwards, 100% of new DS models electrified

• Formula E = R & D lab

• 2 - From 2025, each new DS model will only be available with either electrified engines (PHEV), 100% electric, or perhaps both.

Speed always gives thrills and adrenaline, but behind this, there is a human adventure, a team spirit and the ability to be useful in real life - the technology transfer.

4. COVID-19 affected every possible part of our lives. How did it hit DS Automobiles? Have new opportunities emerged from this crisis?

All my teams are OK, that’s the most important thing. Besides, very early on we implemented remote working to continue to develop the brand. From the retail aspect, we used digital to deploy the online and offline customer journey to guarantee the DS experience for our customers.
Obviously the COVID crisis challenged us a great deal and created new ways to manage the business and also to use the car. The car is a means of protection for many people and leisure usage increased with long journeys while remote working has been widespread.

5. During your career did you face many challenges through being a woman in the male-dominated automotive industry? What’s it like at DS Automobiles? Where do you see the benefits of having more women in this industry?

I have been in the auto industry for a very long time. I began at the bottom and now I am at the top. So many things have changed since I started in 1990. There were few women at that time who were attracted to the auto industry. At the end of the day it is not about being a woman in a masculine world; it’s about being credible and having the ability to manage a team, survive and be agile in a chaotic world.
It’s a great industry to be in and it attracts more women now, which is a very good thing. Women are more and more interested in cars; they are involved in the choice, or key influencers when time comes to buy them.
At DS I take care of the balance between men and women. Women have different views; they manage in a different way and they create with a different focus. As the next 10 years will be another strong challenge, we need diversity in our teams to face huge changes.
But bear in mind that it doesn’t matter whether there are a lot of women in percentage terms, you need to maintain a good balance and to have a passion for the auto industry.

And the +1 question from Béatrice to you: “What would you consider luxurious in the future?”

Thank you Béatrice for the great talk and for sharing your insights with us.

Pictures: DS Automobiles
Interview: Britta Reineke