Stellantis wants to bring hands-free driving to very different vehicles by using common technology developed with Wayve. At Wave by Vento 2026 in Turin, Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale prototypes demonstrated the progress of the partnership, which targets its first commercial launch in North America in 2028.
Stellantis brings the same AI driving system to Fiat, Maserati and Jeep
The system demonstrated in Turin assists drivers on both city streets and highways through what the companies call Level 2++ technology. Drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel under supported conditions, but they must continue watching the road and remain ready to intervene. The person behind the wheel therefore retains responsibility even during hands-free, door-to-door assisted driving.
Wayve’s technology learns from driving experience and uses that knowledge to interpret new situations on the road. According to the company, this approach allows the system to navigate different environments without relying on high-definition maps or manually written rules for every possible scenario. Stellantis integrates the Wayve AI Driver with STLA AutoDrive and adapts the system to its own vehicles.
Moving from the small Fiat to the Maserati SUV requires engineers to account for differences in dimensions, vehicle dynamics and sensor placement. The teams kept the same core driving intelligence while adjusting its integration to suit each vehicle. They had already followed a similar process with the Jeep Grand Cherokee earlier in the year.
The 500e and Grecale progressed from integration to their first real-world road tests in less than four weeks. That timeframe applies specifically to this stage of the two prototype programs, which will continue through additional testing and validation before customers gain access to the technology. The choice of demonstration vehicles also does not reveal which production models will receive the system first.
Antonio Filosa and Alex Kendall discussed the project during the Turin event. The Stellantis CEO placed the partnership within the company’s FaSTLAne 2030 strategy and highlighted the potential for driver assistance to reduce the effort required behind the wheel. Wayve’s co-founder and CEO emphasized the ability to transfer the same core software between very different vehicle configurations, as the three prototypes have demonstrated so far.
The partnership announced in May also covers the development of Level 4 applications. Together with Stellantis’ L4-Ready Platforms, Wayve’s AI technology could eventually support driverless mobility services for high-use operations. Those applications will require their own testing and validation processes, separate from the supervised assistance intended for privately owned vehicles.
The 2028 North American launch specifically targets supervised hands-free driving. The Fiat 500e and Maserati Grecale have now provided an early real-world demonstration of how Stellantis and Wayve plan to scale that technology across different vehicles.