Car dealers will not be expected to invest in stand-alone stores for the DS brand, according to vice president of global sales and marketing Arnaud Ribault (pictured).

In an interview at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show yesterday, Ribault told AM that dealers shouldn’t worry about DS becoming a brand on its own as it has no plans to separate it from Citroen dealerships.

However, dealers will be expected to create a DS Salon within its Citroen dealership, which he said will not be a large investment, but will 'massively improve' the customer experience for those entering a Citroen dealership wanting to buy a DS.

Ribault said: “Our dealer network in China was built from scratch so each DS dealership is stand-alone, but in the UK we have no plans for the DS brand to be completely separate.

“We have a fantastic relationship with our investors and partners and meet with them regularly to see how best to secure DS’s success.

“Our plan for 2015 is to make the DS brand within the Citroen dealerships more of an experience and more of an individual journey for the customer.

“The biggest markets for DS are the UK, France and China, and we intend to look after that and make sure that the brand continues to grow.”

Dealers told AM last year that they feared the Citroen franchise would not be viable in the UK if there was a split off of the DS brand, which has revived its fortunes.