Stellantis shields China EV deals from US; Ford faces political fallout over tech ties

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa is ring-fencing its Leapmotor and Dongfeng partnerships to non-US markets to avoid political exposure, while Ford's licensing deals with CATL and Geely are drawing Washington's scrutiny. The US-China auto decoupling is expanding beyond assembly to technology licensing and software, raising compliance and market-access risks for automakers.