We’ve seen those type of arrangements in the industry. So this is definitely a place where we are going to let our creativity flow. This is an outstanding partner for us, where we think we have a lot to offer them, but also a lot to learn. And I think you’ll hear about it over time that we will become more ambitious in terms of what we want to do in our collaboration with Leapmotor going forward.
Dorothee Cresswell: Very helpful. Thank you.
Operator: And we’ll now take our next question from Henning Cosman of Barclays. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Henning Cosman: Yeah. Hi, Natalie. Thanks it’s Henning speaking. There were a few comments made on profitability in the second half. And if you allow me, I just wanted to perhaps consolidate that and ask your opinion. So, I think in your intro remarks, you said H2 also double-digit. I think in the press release, you were quoted as saying you’re focused on maintaining momentum and delivering industry-leading profitability. I think you also quote on saying that you will continue to cut cost to make up for the strike hit. So perhaps specifically on the industry-leading profitability, Mercedes at 12.5% in Q3, the company consensus that you had collected was at 11%. So let me ask you straight up. Would you agree that, that seems a little bit low in the context of what you’re thinking when we’re consolidating all the statements that have been transpiring today? That’s my first question.
Natalie Knight: Okay. On that question, I think the answer is the sum of the parts that you’re bringing are correct. So when we look at – this is something where we are very proud of this pull position we have in the industry of the highest margin in terms of AOI and the strongest cash flows. And that is something we are very focused on how do we stay in that top tier with our competitors, because that’s what we believe shows the world that we are going to be one of the winners in this market long-term, and we know the steps and the smart ways to make that happen. So, that is something that is very important to us in terms of how we move forward. You’re also right, that we are very strongly of the opinion that when it comes to looking at everything in terms of things that are unexpected and the strike and the length of it was unexpected, is, how do we find ways to mitigate those expenses.
Now obviously, the impact in 2023 is a significant one, and I don’t want to suggest you’ll see that fully mitigated in ‘23. But I think you will see big moves on our side. This is something that we care about and this part of our DNA. This is something we think shows how seriously we take the ability to bring affordable cars, especially as we move into a new EV generation to market. So to your point about the 11% margin. And is that something that might be conservative when we look at it for the full year? The answer is definitely yes. We’re not giving new guidance today. We’re confirming the guidance that we have out there. But I think when you look at the pieces and you look at our performance year-to-date, you look at what you’ve seen in terms of the sales and shipment trends, I think you can continue to be very confident in our ability to deliver as a Group.
Henning Cosman: Thank you. And maybe I can ask specifically about pricing and mix again as well, specifically for Europe and North America; both were obviously positive again in the third quarter, mix hadn’t been positive at the half year point. Could you go into a little bit what you’re seeing today? How is pricing? How is mix developing in the fourth quarter, October over now already, where the directional ingredients of Q3, are they sustainable as we go into the fourth quarter? Thank you.
Natalie Knight: So, I think what we see in the marketplace is that, it does seem things are toughening up there a bit. And it’s also an environment where we know that versus the last year, you have seen prices instead of – we had big gains in ‘22. And a lot of our efforts have been about how do we hold on to those prices. And I think we’ve done that in a smart way, and it’s something we’re proud of the performance, and we’ve chosen at times to make market share trade-offs that were required to be able to continue to deliver that strong pricing. When we look at the fourth quarter, I think what you see is continued development in terms of what’s happening. I think our growth will really be driven by volumes, pricing, we think, will be largely stable.
I think we feel confident that we’re going to be able to control incentives at a good healthy level, which is going to kind of be key. And one of the reasons we believe we can protect our profitability. So we do always have to be thinking about things like the mix is increasing in LEVs. And for the moment, even though those are profitable for us, they have a lower impact in terms of our overall profitability number versus ICE. So, there are some mixed things that we’re going to have to offset. But I think when we look at those four pieces, you can see volume being the real driver, price continuing to be a plus and mix having some positives and negatives in it.
Henning Cosman: Thank you, Natalie. That’s correct. Sorry just as you were talking, I’m getting just quite a few clearing questions if we could please clarify. So my question was around consensus level in the second half, which I’ve calculated as 11% from what you had said around. I believe in your answer, you said full year. So, can we just clarify that we’re talking about the H2 level at 11% being low, that’s what you meant, right?
