PSA Group is taking an unusual tack when it comes to selling its cars in China. PSA’s Citroën brand has had some initial success in the Chinese market, and the car-maker has high expectations of its luxury DS-badged models there, but it needs to find ways to communicate to buyers that French cars can be the equal, in luxury terms, of their German competitors.
The solution? To give away fine wines and expensive perfumes. The booze and the smelly stuff will be handed out at promotional events designed to raise the profile of the DS brand in Chinese buyers’ eyes, as Citroën begins production of the DS5 model at a new factory in Shenznen Province, partnering with Chinese car-maker Changan Automobile Group.