Stellantis CEO says Wayve tie-up can cut self-driving costs, development time

TURIN, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Stellantis CEO ‌Antonio Filosa said ​on Friday ​the automaker's partnership with British startup Wayve could help slash development times and costs for advanced driver-assistance systems as carmakers race to bring autonomous features ‌to market.

Speaking alongside Wayve CEO Alex Kendall at the Wave technology event ⁠in Turin, Filosa said scale would be crucial to making hands-free driving affordable and accelerating adoption.

"So as long ‌as penetration follows the path ‌that we believe is going to happen massively ... automotive scale, which is one of the complimentary assets that we bring to Alex, for instance, will decrease costs, which ​is very important, obviously," Filosa said, referring to so-called level 2++ driving assistance technology, which allows for hands-off driving while still requiring driver supervision.

Reducing development timelines, currently around ⁠24 months for Stellantis, was a key benefit of working with technology partners, he said.

Stellantis in May announced a partnership ​with Wayve to integrate the startup's AI-powered driving software into its STLA AutoDrive platform. Its first product launch is targeted for 2028 in ​North America.

European regulators are still working to harmonise approval ‌rules for increasingly sophisticated assisted-driving systems as automakers push for wider deployment.

INTENSIFYING COMPETITION

Traditional automakers initially aimed to develop advanced self-driving systems largely in-house, ⁠but with costs soaring and returns taking longer then expected, they are increasingly relying on specialist technology firms.

Wayve is also working with other automakers, including Nissan and Mercedes, and has said its technology ⁠is designed to be deployed across multiple vehicle brands and markets.

Kendall said Stellantis' portfolio of brands - which ​include Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Maserati - offered a unique opportunity to tailor autonomous driving characteristics across different vehicles while using the same underlying AI system.

"One of the goals ... is the diversity of vehicles and ‌brands that Stellantis have," he said.

The partnership comes amid intensifying competition in automated driving. Tesla is pushing regulators across Europe to approve its ‌Full Self-Driving technology, arguing advanced driver-assistance systems can improve road safety and accelerate adoption of autonomous ⁠features.

At the Turin event, Stellantis and ‌Wayve demonstrated hands-free driving in ​Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale development vehicles, extending technology first shown on a Jeep Grand Cherokee earlier this year.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by ‌Susan Fenton)

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