DS 4 to be built in Rüsselsheim, Germany, not Sochaux

Of everything revealed during the launch of the new DS 4, one detail ended up drawing far more attention than anyone expected: where it will be built.

Rather than confirming production in Sochaux, France - where other EMP2-based models are assembled, such as the Peugeot 3008 - DS Automobiles announced that the new DS 4 will instead be produced in Rüsselsheim, Germany.

Rüsselsheim? Isn’t that where Opel’s headquarters are located? Exactly. France’s latest premium proposition will roll off the line in Germany, near Frankfurt, at the same plant that currently builds the Opel Insignia and previously built the Opel Zafira (before it became a derivative of a van).

French-style luxury… made in Germany

When development began on project D41, which would ultimately become the DS 4, the roadmap seemed clear. The new model was to be manufactured in France, in Sochaux, alongside other Groupe PSA vehicles based on the EMP2 platform - a plan that, on paper, was entirely coherent.

However, midway through last year, Carlos Tavares - then CEO of Groupe PSA and now CEO of Stellantis - opted to switch the production site to Rüsselsheim, Germany, the city where Opel was founded and remains headquartered.

Why the DS 4 is being built in Rüsselsheim

As is typical of Tavares, the move was driven by a straightforward, practical rationale. Above all, it relates to the successor to the Opel Astra, also due to launch in 2021 and built on the same underpinnings as the DS 4, which would likewise be produced in Rüsselsheim.

At present, the Opel Astra (and Vauxhall Astra) - still based on General Motors hardware - is built in Ellesmere Port in the United Kingdom and in Gliwice, Poland. What will happen to those production sites going forward remains unclear, particularly Ellesmere Port, given the additional costs brought about by Brexit.

Factory capacity, the Opel Astra and union commitments

What is known is that production of the new Opel Astra will move to Rüsselsheim (where it was built in the generation prior to the current one), alongside the French DS 4. This allows Carlos Tavares to keep the factory operating at full capacity.

The shift also supports the industrial peace promised in 2018 to IG Metall, the influential German union which, following Groupe PSA’s acquisition of Opel from GM, sought firm commitments on investment and job retention across several Opel plants, including Rüsselsheim.

Sochaux, eVMP and what comes next

Sochaux in France - despite having previously been lined up to produce the DS 4 - has not been left short-changed. From 2023, it is due to build the first models based on the new eVMP platform. As well as accommodating hybrid powertrains, this architecture will also support fully electric drivetrains, unlike EMP2, which only allows plug-in hybrids.

The first vehicle to use eVMP - widely expected to be the successor to EMP2 - should be the next-generation Peugeot 3008. Even so, rumours suggest that, shortly before the new 3008 appears, eVMP could spawn a new DS 5, bearing little or no resemblance to the DS 5 we knew, whose production ended in 2019. This model is expected to become the production version of the DS Aero Sport Lounge.