Thousands of consumers are expected to see the latest cars from the likes of Peugeot, Fiat, Vauxhall and DS at a special event organised by Stellantis UK this weekend.
The Stellantis UK National Business Meeting 2026 is being held over three days this week at Manchester Central Convention Centre, to outline to its franchised dealers and head office staff the plan for the year, and the carmaker is adding on a public event this Saturday, branded the Manchester Motor Show.
Automotive Management was invited to a special preview evening on Tuesday, when Stellantis UK group managing director Eurig Druce told us he’s positive about the prospects for its brands in 2026 and delighted with the interest in the public day from Manchester’s residents.
“We’ve had to close reservations early and cancel a load of marketing because we would have been massively oversubscribed,” he told AM. Its advance promotion has generated some 11,000 registrations for the free Manchester Motor Show.
The company has made a significant investment, with each individual Stellantis brand having its own stand, showcasing its brand identity and new cars and often with elements of fun engagement for dealers and the visitors, such as golf and tennis simulators, gaming stations, a climbing wall and virtual reality bungee jumping.
Druce said the brands were challenged to see who could be the most creative. “If you think about designing those stands you’ve two missions. Of course you want to showcase the cars, showcase your product, but at the same time to entertain – to entertain dealers as they’re waiting to go into the convention, and entertaining the public which is obviously a very different thing.”
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As a whole, Stellantis UK did not lose market share in 2025, something Druce is proud to highlight given the assault on established European car brands from the likes of BYD, Omoda, Jaecoo and others from China. The fortunes of its individual brands varied, nevertheless, with Citroen and Fiat shrinking and Peugeot, Alfa Romeo and Jeep in growth.
Druce conceded that Peugeot and Vauxhall are its two major brands for the UK but added: “There’s so much potential around the room.”
Citroen, down to 1.03% market share, had no new launches in 2025 but with a portfolio of C3, C3 Aircross and C5 Aircross in 2026 it should be capable of exceeding 2% share, he said, and Fiat, currently at 0.43% share, should be able to grow to 1.5% in late 2026 as its range expands with Grande Panda and a petrol-engined 500 supermini. Jeep will also gain the Compass C-segment SUV, and the Leapmotor range will expand from two models to eight.
He said a key message of the Stellantis UK National Business Meeting 2026 will be about a plan called Forward In Partnership with its dealers. “That’s a two to three year plan where we take the brands we grow and we’ll support the networks as well. We haven’t been doing much of this for many years, we’ve been reducing investment in the size of our team.
“But now we are investing and recruiting, in particularly in areas where we’ve some pain, such as technical support, fleet customer support. Our teams will grow early on in 2026 to support areas we need to. So this is a major change in the direction of Stellantis – we want to not be standing still watching Chinese brands take over, we’re taking the battle.”
Asked why he is confident in 2026, Druce answered: “Obviously product is 70% of what this industry is about, 20% is what the network can do, we’re only a little 10%. Marketing initiatives that we have will, for sure, put our brands in front of the right customers.
“We’re talking, as part of the Forward In Partnership plan, about moving our marketing away from vanity projects onto results driven. What I mean by results driven is, how many people are walking into a showroom, how many are sending an inquiry to the dealer.
“Because that’s what marketing should be around. Saying that is a crucial pillar for us.”
He said Future In Partnership has seven elements, and focuses heavily on infrastructure which will drive changes in performance.