Stellantis CEO Says Wayve Deal to Cut Self-Driving Costs, Shorten Development Cycles

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said Friday that the automaker's partnership with British startup Wayve could lower costs and compress development timelines for advanced driver-assistance systems, Reuters reported. Speaking at the Wave technology event in Turin alongside Wayve CEO Alex Kendall, Filosa said automotive scale is central to making hands-free driving affordable. He cited Stellantis' roughly two-year development cycles, saying outside technology partners can meaningfully shorten that schedule. "Automotive scale... will decrease costs," Filosa said, referring to level 2++ driving assistance. Stellantis announced the Wayve partnership in May to integrate the startup's AI-powered driving software into its STLA AutoDrive platform, targeting a first product launch in 2028 in North America. The companies demonstrated hands-free driving using Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale prototypes. The deal comes as Stellantis trades at an all-time low. Filosa last week reaffirmed 2026 guidance for mid-single-digit net revenue growth and a low-single-digit adjusted operating income margin, following May's FaSTLAne 2030 plan committing €60 billion over five years.