Stellantis Builds a French Supply Chain for Level 4 Autonomy

Stellantis is not waiting for someone else to piece together Europe’s self-driving industry. The group has signed on to a new alliance with Wayve, NVIDIA and the French government, aimed at building a homegrown chain that runs all the way from silicon to a finished robotaxi.

The division of labour is unusually clear: Stellantis supplies the vehicle platform that can handle Level 4 driving and builds the cars, Wayve writes the driving AI, and NVIDIA provides the compute stack through its Hyperion architecture and Halos operating system. Unions and local authorities are being folded into the process, with safety and data protection framed as non-negotiables.

A living lab on Paris streets

The alliance’s practical side will show up as the “Greater Paris Autonomous Driving Living Lab,” a submission to the European Commission’s ADACities programme. Métropole du Grand Paris, Stellantis and ride-hailing operator Bolt are named partners, with Pony.ai pencilled in as a possible software supplier.

Timeline as planned:

• 2028: first road tests in up to five municipalities in the north-western part of the region
• 2028-2030: evaluation of safety, uptime, public transport integration and social, economic and environmental effects
• 2030: expansion to roughly 30 municipalities and the start of commercial service

One detail worth flagging: the vehicles are not meant to replace the metro. They are designed as feeders for the first and last mile, connecting people to shopping zones and easing congestion when big events strain the network.

Why France gets the nod

France already ranks among Europe’s biggest markets for taxis and ride-hailing — and it legislated for Level 4 testing early, which gives operators legal footing to put cars on public roads. Add Stellantis’ manufacturing base and the picture becomes obvious. The country has also been putting real money behind AI, with €109 billion in commitments announced at the 2025 AI Summit in Paris.

There is no word yet on which vehicles will be converted for the pilot, nor on fleet size. For now, the alliance exists on paper — the hard engineering work starts next.