Stellantis Invests in Cool Painting Technique for its New EV Flagship DS N°8

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT in PLM from both SIEMENS and DASSAULT SYSTEMES. One of the Stellantis automotive group’s many subsidiaries in the automotive sector is DS Automobiles, a brand that has its roots in the iconic French manufacturer Citroen and their DS model series. However, since 2014, the DS pieces have stood on their own two feet and focus on exclusive and innovative cars inspired by French haute couture and avant-garde. This can of course take many forms, but one of the more visually significant elements is the paintwork.
Today the company announces that Stellantis’ manufacturing facility in Melfi, Italy – known as one of the company’s centers of excellence – is investing in ABB’s innovative PixelPaint technology with monocoat paint from Nippon Paint. The point is to give DS Automobiles’ new flagship DS N°8 the elegant two-tone paint finish. The groundbreaking technology will be scaled up in production in the second half of 2025 in a fully automated and sustainable process.
Silvio Licitra, Head of Paint Process Engineering at Stellantis, comments:
“The DS N°8 redefines the ‘French Art of Travel’. Its sleek contours invite long journeys in quiet and peaceful electric comfort, while the elegant two-tone paintwork with its clearly defined lines is an ultra-modern reinterpretation of the historic art of French carriage building. ABB’s PixelPaint enables both design and sustainability, a technological excellence that is combined with aesthetics.”
Joerg Reger, Head of ABB Robotics’ Automotive Business, adds that PixelPaint is increasingly being used by some of the world’s leading automotive designers who want to create an extraordinary finish. Traditionally, the deep black two-tone paintwork on the DS N°8 required complex manual masking and repeated runs through the paint shop. PixelPaint improves efficiency, saves energy and significantly reduces emissions. With two robots working in coordination, this precision paintwork can be applied faster and without manual handling.”
PixelPaint consists of a paint head with over 1,000 very small, individually controlled nozzles. The head is mounted on an ABB robot, such as the IRB 5500 robot in the paint series. Together with 3D vision systems and coordinated by ABB's RobotStudio software, it ensures that 100 percent of the paint is sprayed onto the car without overspray or air dispersion of the spray. Spillage is eliminated and the requirements for environmental treatment are reduced, which significantly contributes to DS Automobiles' sustainability goals.
On the PLM and CAD side, the Stellantis group companies work in two main environments: The French PSA companies (Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles) work in a Dassault environment with 3DEXPERIENCE and CATIA, while the Fiat Chrysler side and most of the other brands in the group work in Siemens environments with Teamcenter as a PLM base and NX CAD. Other brands in the group include Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Dodge, Lancia and Opel.) In global sales in 2024 The Stellantis Group comes in fifth place with just over 5.5 million vehicles sold.
So, what does the DS PixelPaint solution for the DS N°8 look like in more detail and what makes it better than traditional methodology from a sustainability perspective?