Stellantis sells car-sharing arm, promotes Chinese executive as Turin hub adapts

Stellantis has agreed to sell its Free2move car-sharing business to an undisclosed buyer, Automotive News Europe reported on Tuesday, citing a company statement. The sale ends the carmaker’s direct involvement in shared mobility as chief executive Santo Filosa focuses resources on core manufacturing and electrification, according to the report.

The same day, Automotive News reported that Stellantis promoted Chinese executive Xin Tianshu to its global management team, a move the outlet described as an effort to tighten cooperation with Chinese electric-vehicle makers, including joint-venture partner Leapmotor. Xin had previously managed Stellantis operations in China and will now work on global strategy from the group’s headquarters in the Netherlands, the report said.

Separately, Automotive News published an interview with Pietro Gorlier, chief executive of Comau, the Stellantis-owned robotics and automation arm that was recently spun off as an independent entity. Gorlier told the outlet that Comau’s post-Stellantis independence positions it to expand beyond automotive assembly lines into sectors such as aerospace, energy and logistics — markets where Turin-based engineering skills have long held a presence.

The three announcements, reported over 48 hours by the international automotive trade press, come as Stellantis navigates a delicate balance between cost discipline and the heavy investment required for its electrification transition. AD HOC NEWS, a German financial newswire, noted on Monday that Stellantis stock had traded steady as recent earnings and margin trends gave investors a clearer picture of the carmaker’s trajectory. The stock is listed on the Milan exchange under ISIN NL00150001Q9, reflecting the group’s Dutch corporate domicile.

The Free2move sale reverses a strategy Stellantis had pursued since its 2021 formation, when the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group created a company that touted mobility services as a growth pillar. Automotive News Europe reported that the disposal allows Filosa to redirect capital toward product development and manufacturing efficiency, priorities that directly affect Stellantis’s largest engineering and production centre in Turin. The Mirafiori complex in Turin remains the group’s primary facility for electric-drive unit assembly and luxury model production, though the company has not announced new production allocations for the site in recent months.

The promotion of Xin Tianshu comes as Stellantis deepens its partnership with Chinese EV maker Leapmotor, in which it holds a 20 percent stake. Automotive News reported that Xin will help bridge the technological gap between Stellantis’s Western platforms and Chinese battery-supply chains, a relationship that could influence which components are sourced through Turin’s procurement network. The appointment also signals Stellantis’s intent to compete in China, where it has struggled to gain market share with its European and American brands.

Comau’s independence, finalised earlier this year, has been watched closely in Piedmont, where the company employs roughly 1,500 people at its Grugliasco headquarters near Turin. CEO Gorlier told Automotive News that Comau is now pursuing contracts in green-energy battery manufacturing and lightweight aerospace structures — sectors where the region’s industrial base, built on automotive know-how, can be redeployed. “We are no longer a captive supplier,” Gorlier was quoted as saying. “We are a technology partner for any industry that needs advanced automation.”

Foreign trade press coverage has framed these moves as part of a broader reshaping of Stellantis under Filosa, who took over as CEO after Carlos Tavares stepped down in early 2026. The Financial Times and Reuters have previously reported that Filosa aims to reduce the group’s structural costs while protecting margins on its most profitable models, such as the Jeep Wrangler and Maserati line. Whether these strategic shifts will translate into new investments at the Turin plants or further rationalisation of the Italian manufacturing footprint remains a question that international analysts continue to follow, according to the Automotive News reports.

For the Piedmont economy, which has seen slow employment growth in the automotive sector over the past decade, the Stellantis announcements offer a mixed picture. The sale of Free2move removes a low-margin business line from the group’s Italian activities, while the promotion of a China specialist suggests that future product development may favour partnerships with Asian suppliers rather than local component makers. The expansion of Comau into non-automotive automation, however, could open new industrial opportunities in a region that has long sought to diversify beyond car assembly.