(Bloomberg) — Stellantis NV is mulling a potential sale of its car-sharing business Free2move as Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa looks to turn around the ailing automaker, according to people familiar with the situation.
The manufacturer has reached out to potential buyers for Free2move, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. Considerations are at an early stage and there’s no certainty a deal will happen, the people said.
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Filosa, 52, is under pressure to steady the carmaker that’s suffered market share losses in the US and Europe following missteps under the leadership of former CEO Carlos Tavares. A broader review of portfolio assets and the group’s industrial footprint is under way at Stellantis, with a goal of presenting a new business plan to investors in the first quarter next year, the people said.
A representative for Stellantis declined to comment.
A sale of Free2move could be part of Filosa’s plan to exit unprofitable businesses and focus investments on core assets and regions. Filosa, a company veteran who took over the helm in May, is seeking to funnel as much investment as possible into the US, a key profit engine for the group, some of the people said.
There are indications that the pivot to focus more on the US is starting to pay off, with the group reporting its first quarterly sales gain there in more than two years. Shares of Stellantis rose as much as 7.6% in Milan on Thursday following the news. The company has a market value of about €24 billion ($28 billion).
Stellantis has hired McKinsey & Co. for strategic advice on the ailing brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo, people familiar with the matter said in April. The company repeatedly said Maserati is not up for sale.
Free2move was launched in September 2016 by France’s PSA Group, which was later merged with Italy’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to form Stellantis. Since the ouster of Tavares, Stellantis — which owns brands including Jeep, Ram and Fiat — has scaled back its electric vehicle ambitions and halted investments in a hydrogen joint venture with Michelin and Forvia SE.
Free2move was once a big bet by the former Stellantis CEO at a time other rivals had started pulling out amid difficulties in building successful business models for mobility services. The manufacturer announced in 2022 its intention to acquire Share Now, the car-sharing venture jointly owned by BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG, for an undisclosed sum. At the time, Stellantis said it planned to expand Free2move globally, aiming for 15 million active users and net revenues of €2.8 billion.