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Citro?n heading to Beijing with DS 5LS R concept [w/video]

With the renaissance of the DS line, Citroën was clearly going for style and elegance. But in the years since it has also imbued some of its premium DS models with an added dose of performance. It used the DS3 as the basis for its World Rally Championship challenger, then rolled out the DS3 Racing hot hatch and the DS3 Cabrio Racing version, and applied a similar treatment to the DS4 Racing concept. Now it's doing the same to the Chinese-market DS 5LS luxury sedan.
Set to debut later this month at the Beijing Motor Show, the somewhat awkwardly named DS 5LS R may sound more like a new camera model but is actually a performance sedan concept. In its transformation, Citroën gave it a 1.6-liter turbo four with 300 horsepower on tap, lowered the suspension by 15 millimeters (0.6 inches), widened the track, upgraded the brakes, fitted 20-inch wheels and gave it looks to match.
The bodywork has been doused in a matte metallic shade of reddish magenta and accented with carbon-fiber trim, while the interior has been upgraded with leather and Alcantara trim, top-stitched in the same red as the exterior and similarly accented with carbon trim. Of course R logos feature prominently throughout. No matter what we think of it, though, a concept car based on a model made by a French automaker for the Chinese market stands absolutely no chance of ever seeing the inside of an American showroom or an inch of the Great American Road, so the closest we're ever likely to get is the high-res image gallery above and the video and press release below.

Citroen draws the curtain on 30 years of minivans and MPVs

Citroen announced on Thursday the end of its Grand C4 SpaceTourer model, a four-door minivan-like MPV, drawing a line under 30 years of small people haulers that embodied the brand's family image now overshadowed by SUVs. "Because customers' aspirations have evolved, expression of modernity and enhancement is today carried by other shapes (and) the way of thinking mobility is changing, Grand C4 SpaceTourer is now bowing out", the brand said in a statement. In France, minivan and MPV sales fell almost to zero in the first quarter as SUVs claimed the lion's share at 46% of new car registrations, racing with traditional sedans which bring in 47% of sales. In the U.S., SUVs have become a highly dominant body style, but minivans still sell. Among Stellantis brands in the U.S., the Chrysler Pacifica is the fourth best-selling model, though that number likely contains both consumer and fleet sales. Production of the Grand C4 SpaceTourer at the plant located in Vigo, Spain, will stop at the beginning of July after current orders are delivered, Stellantis added in a press release. Citroen, which retains two models of electric minivans in its catalog, plans to focus on its C5 Aircross SUV and its large C5X sedan. In 30 years, the brand sold nearly 4.5 million minivans worldwide, fuelled by the Evasion from 1994, the C8 from 2002 and, most importantly, the Xsara and C4 Picasso after 1998, whose rounded silhouettes and family-friendly designs found favor with customers. Related Video: Citroen Minivan/Van

Peugeot family cedes control in rescue deal with China's Dongfeng

PSA Peugeot-Citroën may have been saved from the brink of collapse. It has finally completed a deal where Chinese automaker Dongfeng and the French government are each investing about 800-million euros ($1.1 billion USD) to take 14 percent stakes in the automaker, according to the BBC. The deal dilutes the Peugeot family's stake from 25.4 percent to 14 percent. In addition to that, it is raising another 1.4 billion euros ($1.9 billion) from existing PSA investors. The deal still must be approved by shareholders, but is expected to pass.
The deal's announcement comes at the same time that PSA has announced its 2013 financial results. It posted a 2.32-billion euro ($3.2 billion) loss last year, which can be considered a substantial improvement compared to the 5-billion euro ($6.9 billion) loss in 2012. Sales were down 2.4 percent last year.
The Dongfeng deal has been rumored since last year, and the two companies are already linked, as Dongfeng runs a PSA joint-venture factory in China. The French government is promising to use its stake to protect Peugeot workers in France when it becomes a shareholder.