BYD hires Stellantis manager Davino

The personnel changes in Stellantis’ top management continue. When it was announced in mid-October that the contract of CEO Carlos Tavares would not be extended, numerous other top positions were also filled. Some managers were transferred, others had to leave the company – such as Head of Europe Uwe Hochgeschurtz or CFO Natalie Knight.

Still other managers have left voluntarily; about a week ago, Maria Grazia Davino, Stellanti’s UK Group Managing Director, announced her departure on LinkedIn. It is now clear where the Italian is heading: BYD has appointed Maria Grazia Davino as the new Regional Managing Director for Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic.

“Maria Grazia Davino has extensive experience in the automotive industry and has already held management positions at well-known car manufacturers in various markets,” writes BYD about the new addition. “She has an impressive track record of implementing sales, retail, finance and marketing strategies at country, regional and global levels.” BYD also points to her degrees in philosophy and economics, “reflecting her analytical approach to the complex dynamics of the automotive industry”.

In fact, her automotive career began at Lamborghini before moving to Fiat. During her time at FiatChrysler, she was then temporarily responsible for the markets in Switzerland, Austria and, from 2018 to 2021, Germany. After the merger with PSA to form Stellantis, she initially worked in marketing and sales for the Enlarged Europe region before taking over the UK markets just over a year ago.

At BYD, Davino is to “make a decisive contribution to strengthening the company’s business activities in Europe”. The Chinese car manufacturer started with great ambitions in Europe due to its success in China, but has not yet been able to fulfill them. In Germany, for example, BYD only has 1,790 new registrations after three quarters, compared to 4,139 new vehicles in 2023 as a whole. This is why BYD parted ways with the original German importer Hedin and now wants to serve the market on its own – the plan was initiated by Stella Li, who has taken over responsibility for the weakening European business. At a recent dealer conference, Li is said to have set a target of 50,000 sales in Germany in 2025.

To achieve this, Stella Li is now strengthening her team. “We are delighted to welcome Maria Grazia to our team. Her extensive experience and visionary leadership will be critical to our continued growth and innovation in the European automotive industry,” Li is quoted as saying in the press release.

However, BYD has not only poached Stellantis managers at European level. As reported by Automobilwoche, Alessandro Grosso has been Managing Director for BYD in Italy since October, having previously been responsible for Stellantis sales there. And the former head of Peugeot for Spain and Portugal, Alberto De Aza, is now responsible for these two markets for BYD.

Source: info via mail, automobilwoche.de (in German)