New MD of Stellantis UK announced as Maria Grazia Davino exits

Maria Grazia Davino has stepped down from the group managing director post at Stellantis UK after 14 months in the role.

The vehicle manufacturer said Davino has decided to leave the company "for other interests".

Stellantis has just revealed that Eurig Druce will be promoted to become her successor.

Druce, a Stellantis/PSA Group veteran of some 23 years, has previously headed the Citroen and most recently Peugeot brands in the UK, and reported in to Davino.

He was also a vice president of Stellantis UK, with responsibility for its business sales operations.

Druce will now report to Jean-Philippe Imparato, Stellantis' chief operating officer for its enlarged Europe region.

He will temporarily remain responsible for Peugeot UK while a successor is sought for that post.

Imparato said: "I am delighted to be able to appoint Eurig Druce to this position.  His proven track record in the country will provide continuity of our strategy in this important market. 

"I sincerely thank Maria Grazia for her unwavering focus on performance and her ability to drive results swiftly. She built strong relationships with retailers, employees, and stakeholders, while adeptly handling regulatory changes in a disrupted industry.

"Her leadership has made a lasting impact on our UK operations and paved the future."

Davino was brought in to the UK by Stellantis last year to repair poor relations with its franchise investors and iron out numerous operational issues, including delays in payments to dealers, after her predecessor Paul Willcox left.

Willcox, who had held senior UK and international roles with Nissan and Volkswagen Group before, joined Groupe PSA, now subsumed into Stellantis, in 2019 and became Vauxhall's MD in 2021 and was then promoted in May 2022 to lead the entire Stellantis operation in the UK when Alison Jones was promoted to a global position.

Davino told Automotive Management last December that she hoped to be staying in the post for several years while she reorganised Stellantis UK and determined when it would be right to put its retail networks onto agency contracts - she has already delayed that from 2024 to 2026 at the earliest.

But in a LinkedIn post just published, which she said was one she'd not wanted to write, she thanked colleagues and added: "I strongly believe that management is about serving others, developing knowledge, people, business and thereby ecosystems. In this context I have prepared my successor Eurig Druce and worked to develop other members of the Stellantis UK team through trust and challenge. It has been my absolute pleasure and honour to serve the industry as part of Stellantis and I acknowledge the many opportunities it has provided, while challenging too my relentless character."

Druce’s career started as a graduate joining Peugeot Motor Company in 2001.  Since then he has experienced field roles in sales and after-sales, becoming director for parts and service in 2015.  Since then he has been managing director for Citroen and group sales director.