DS3 production struggles to meet up with demand

Citroen dealers across Britain are on the point of selling out of the French firm’s most successful car.

Examples of the smash-hit DS3 have become so scarce that Citroen UK officials are asking for additional supplies.

“This car has been a spectacular success and it will be our best-seller this year with more than half our registrations going to the corporate sector. It has revitalised the brand,” fleet sales director Martin Hammill told Fleet News.

Speaking as a cabriolet version of the car was unveiled at the Paris motor show, he said a total of 24,000 Citroen fleet registrations for the first eight months showed a seven per cent improvement on last year in a market down by two per cent.

“We think strong demand for the cabriolet from the contract hire and leasing sector will account for around 45 per cent of registrations. There’s no doubt the DS3 is spearheading our drive upmarket,” he said.

To cost from £15,500, the drop-top car will be pitched to rival the Mini and Fiat 500 and is expected to account for 10 per cent of DS3 sales.

With a power-operated fabric hood that can be opened or closed at speeds up to 70mph, it will feature the new 1.2-litre, three-cylinder PSA petrol engine when it arrives in March.

Meanwhile, Citroen is celebrating the 1,000th registration of its DS5 Hybrid in Britain.

“The car is selling at double the rate we anticipated, so we have high hopes for the latest variant, which has a 91g/km emissions performance. This means users can specify all the additional features they want and still qualify for the 10 per cent BIK rate,” said Hammill.