Stellantis Chases Hands-Free Driving Demo in Turin as US Demand Stalls and Italian Plants Idle

Stellantis showcases Wayve AI Driver in Turin Oct 7-9 as Italy sales rise 12.6%, US momentum fades and Q3 results loom Oct 28.

Stellantis is putting artificial intelligence at the center of its push into next-generation cockpit and driver-assistance technology. Together with UK-based tech firm Wayve, the automaker will showcase automated driving functions from Wednesday, October 7 through October 9 at the "Wave by Vento" event in Turin.

At the heart of the demonstration is the integration of the Wayve AI Driver into Stellantis' in-house STLA AutoDrive platform, which enables hands-free driving at Level 2++ under supervision. Development vehicles from the Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale lines will serve as test mules. Shares responded positively to the news, gaining 1.5% on the day to EUR 3.96.

A Split Picture Across the Atlantic

Away from the technology showcase, the operating picture on Stellantis' core European markets has been uneven. In Italy, the group's home turf, September registrations climbed 12.6% year-on-year to 38,704 vehicles, lifted in part by the addition of partner brand Leapmotor. Strip out that newcomer and the group's own brands still managed a solid 7.5% gain.

The sales success is offset by persistent production throttling. Management announced short-time working measures for the electric and hybrid Fiat 500 lines at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, set to run from October 19 to October 30. Executives described the situation as a complex manufacturing environment.

Those curbs follow temporary stoppages at French sites roughly a week earlier, triggered in part by bottlenecks in battery cells for long-range electric vehicles. Plants including Sochaux and Mulhouse stood idle for days at a time during October, with media reports pointing to supply constraints on drive batteries from partner ACC. Such interruptions are costly and raise questions about the resilience of EV supply chains.

Meanwhile, the group is pressing ahead with its commercial vehicle offensive. The Stellantis Pro One van unit has opened order books for new compact transporters under brands including Citroën, Fiat Professional, Opel and Peugeot.

North America No Longer the Reliable Pillar

The regional gains in southern Europe cannot mask the persistent worries on the other side of the Atlantic. In the US, Stellantis reported 324,277 vehicles delivered for the third quarter — at best a flat performance versus the prior-year period. Sales since the start of the year remain 3% higher.

Market sentiment, however, is dominated by the impression that momentum is fading, particularly after media reports of weak sales at core brand Jeep weighed on the mood on Friday. North America was for years the group's dependable profit engine. If that pillar starts to wobble, gains in Italy can hardly offset the shortfall.

Management Reshuffles and Analyst Downgrades

Alongside the sales concerns, Stellantis is dealing with operational friction in Europe. The company is responding to the challenges with personnel changes. Luca Parasacco is taking charge of European sales activities for the Free2move eSolutions and Free2move Charge charging businesses. Leadership teams in Italy were also reorganized at the start of the month to strengthen local brand management. These steps are logical but will not resolve short-term structural problems overnight.

The fundamental headwinds had already shown up in September assessments from leading research houses. On September 16, Berenberg downgraded the automaker from "Buy" to "Hold" and cut its price target to EUR 5.10. The analysts cited margin development in North America lagging behind sales figures, along with ongoing drag from inventory reduction. Two days earlier, on September 14, Morgan Stanley had lowered its rating to "Underweight," flagging delays in the product pipeline and weaker prospects for cash generation.

The stock has barely managed to distance itself from its lows and trades not far from its 52-week trough of EUR 3.82. A modest gain of 1.2% to EUR 3.95 at the start of the new trading week offered little more than a breather. Since the beginning of the year, the shares have shed 58% of their value.

October 28 Looms Large

All told, the group finds itself performing a balancing act. On one hand, it is demonstrating a willingness to innovate, not least through the planned showcase of Level 2++ automated driving functions with Wayve. On the other, the operational vulnerability of its European plants and fading momentum in the US are weighing on investor confidence.

At the current valuation, the stock may well have priced in a good deal of risk. Yet no dependable floor can be inferred from that alone as long as questions hang over the health of the US division. A detailed look at the financial development of the past quarter will arrive on October 28, when Stellantis has scheduled the release of its third-quarter 2026 results. Only then will it become clear how deep the recent skid marks really run in the accounts. Until that date, a degree of restraint in the markets is understandable.