Peugeot retailers will have an opportunity to bid for DS franchises this year after parent company PSA announced the premium brand would become separate to Citroen.

The three model DS line-up – DS3, DS4 and DS5 – is currently sold from Citroen dealerships in one of two ways in the UK: DS Stores, which require a separate entrance and reception area within the dealership, and DS Zones, which are a sectioned area within a (typically) smaller dealership.

In major Asian cities like Beijing and Shanghai they are also sold from standalone DS World centres.

Arnaud Leclerc, brand development director for DS, will assess the best way to develop the brand network. However vice president of global sales and marketing Arnaud Ribault recently ruled out standalone DS sites for the UK.

Conversations are ongoing with the dealer network, among them Citroen and Peugeot dealerships, according to the manufacturer.

“We will be talking to new and existing partners,” said Andrew Didlick, PSA Peugeot Citroen director of communications.

The network development plan will be concluded by 2017, before the next generation of DS models come to market, although the agreements will be in place before then.

The Citroen chevrons and badging will be removed from the DS5 from May production with the other models to follow later this year.

At the same point, DS will be officially reported as a separate brand by the SMMT and pricing guides like CAP and Glass’s.