Wayve and Stellantis Collaborate on AI Driver for Fiat, Jeep, and Maserati
Stellantis and Wayve are joining forces to bring hands-free driving to the roads by 2028, with each brand adopting its own unique driving style. According to Wayve CEO Alex Kendall, achieving full autonomy means outperforming a cautious human driver.
The Technology and Its Impact
Kendall believes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) driving systems will become as essential as seatbelts and emergency braking in all vehicles. He made these remarks during a discussion with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa at Wave by Vento in Turin on October 9, 2026. Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas moderated the event.
"I think over time we’re going to see this kind of technology be required in vehicles like a seatbelt, like an emergency braking system," Kendall stated.
Partnership Details
Stellantis is integrating Wayve's AI Driver into its STLA AutoDrive platform for supervised hands-free driving. The initial launch is scheduled for 2028 in North America. During the event, the companies demonstrated the technology in a Fiat 500e and a Maserati Grecale.
The idea to integrate Wayve's AI into the Fiat 500 emerged from a handshake five months ago, with Kendall noting that Wayve tunes its AI to suit the "Italian style" of driving. The company aims to develop AI systems costing less than $1,000 in hardware to achieve mass market adoption, and it already has a deal to install its AI in Mercedes-Benz production cars.
Customized Autonomy
Each Stellantis brand will have its unique driving characteristics, Filosa explained. AI will transform each vehicle into a self-learning machine, with a Jeep learning differently from a Peugeot or a Maserati. Despite the variations, both brands prioritize safety.
Transition to Driverless
Kendall considers supervised driving as a stepping stone to fully autonomous vehicles, not a separate business. He believes that introducing customers to the technology, building necessary data, and establishing supply chains are all facilitated by supervised driving.
To achieve unsupervised driving, a system must surpass the safety of an alert human driver. Wayve tests its AI in over 100 countries and 600-700 cities, utilizing a generative world model called Gaia to ensure safety before deployment. According to Kendall, the technology's performance improves at an exponential rate, mirroring the growth of language models.
Wayve aims to serve as the intelligence layer for vehicles and later for robotics, with Kendall previously stating that Mercedes cars would be equipped with their AI within two years.
Story by Darius Popa