China’s BYD is hiring the former UK chief of Stellantis, according to people familiar with the matter, as the EV maker builds a team of European executives to lead its expansion in the region.
Maria Grazia Davino is likely to have responsibility for a cluster of European countries for BYD after she ends garden leave in December, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
Davino, who stepped down from her Stellantis role on Oct 18, is the third high-profile executive at Stellantis, the owner of Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep, who has jumped over to BYD in recent weeks. She has advocated vocally for EV subsidies in the UK, threatening to close Stellantis factories if the government didn’t ease targets or introduce consumer incentives.
BYD, the maker of the Seal and Atto three electric cars, is bulking up in Europe even as other Chinese electric-vehicle manufactures slow their advance. Its EV sales in the region jumped 19 per cent in August, despite a slowdown in demand and new European Union’s tariffs on EV imports from China.
The company, China’s biggest EV maker, is building factories in Hungary and Turkey to localise production.
A media representative for BYD declined to comment on its hiring plans. Davino did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment sent via LinkedIn.
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Stellantis said it does not comment on the personal decisions of its employees, and has a “deep pool of automotive talent worldwide.”
Alessandro Grosso, Stellantis’ former vice-president of sales for Italy, joined BYD as country manager for Italy this month. Alberto De Aza, managing director for Stellantis brand Peugeot in Spain and Portugal, will head the Chinese company in that area, the people also said.
Grosso, De Aza, and Davino are all former executives from Fiat Chrysler, which merged with France’s PSA Group in 2021 to create Stellantis. Earlier this year, BYD hired former Fiat Chrysler regional boss Alfredo Altavilla as its special adviser for Europe.
Amsterdam-based Stellantis is cutting costs amid market-share declines in key European countries such as France and Italy. chief executive officer Carlos Tavares has been pushing employees to look for jobs elsewhere. BLOOMBERG
