Natalie Knight: My comment was about the full year. So it was, as said, on purpose because we do only give guidance on a full year basis. But again, if we want to have a number above 11% and if you look at the dynamics of our business, I think you can expect that we will continue to have quite positive trends in the second half.
Henning Cosman: Thank you so much.
Operator: Thank you. We’ll now take our next question from Patrick Hummel at UBS. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Patrick Hummel: Yeah, hi. Good afternoon, Natalie. Two questions. My first one is on your EV investment plan. It seems like you’re pressing ahead as planned with the launches with your investment spending. Am I right with that conclusion? I’m asking, of course, against the backdrop of slowing EV demand in the Western markets and the responses of your Detroit competitors to push back some EV launches or also delay sizable amounts of EV-related CapEx?
Natalie Knight: Yes. So in terms of our EV investment plan, when we look at the next period, one of the things that we talked about with our Leapmotor announcement was that, we have actually increased our guidance on what that investment is going to be. We now are expecting to spend EUR 50 billion between now and 2030 in that spot. And our focus is obviously on making sure that we have a flexible powertrain strategy so that we are able to, on the one hand, capitalize on whatever is happening in the marketplace. I think that’s something that we probably came into over time because it was something where we were strong on the ICE side of things, and we moved in a little later into the BEV side of things. But it’s something that today is really important for us, because we are growing very quickly in those Third Engine markets.
And so that means, we’re always going to need to be able to have those kind of products that are new, competitive and affordable. But at the same time, we want to be able to have the best BEVs out there. So, the strategy is the one that I really like because it puts us in a place to, on the one hand, be able to invest heavily in those technologies that are going to drive the future, but also give us a little bit of a safe bet if we see opportunities coming in the ICE segment that we don’t want to miss.
Patrick Hummel: But more precisely for the next year or two, there are no shifts in investments to later years. Is that right?
Natalie Knight: There are no shifts in investments to later years. No. This is one of our biggest priorities. And when we look at this, this is something where, yes, you can definitely continue to expect us to be going full speed ahead.
Patrick Hummel: And my second question then would be just in terms of coming back to the balance sheet and what the cash is earmarked for. Your predecessor had earmarked a few billion euros that are required to build a FinCo. And he also set aside some funds for funding the negative working capital to get to a bit more of a normalized working capital situation. Now that you’re 100 days in the job, would you see the need for those kind of cash outflows in the coming years? Or is there an update to your thinking as it comes to the growth of a captive FinCo business in light of the quite challenging environment?
Natalie Knight: I think that’s one where I would like to take the opportunity to answer that with our full year guidance, because one of the things that we want to do is actually start to, I think, increase our communication in terms of how we look at the balance sheet more holistically. I think what’s absolutely fair from Richard and in terms of how the whole company has operated is, on the one hand, I think we do want to look at having a working capital number that is, I’ll say, more competitive and in line with how the industry is measuring it. So that’s when you’ll continue to see us focused on. In terms of specific items, whether it’s the FinCo or something else, those are things that we’re always going to have strategic priorities that require investment.
But at the same time, it’s critical to us that we are looking at how do we use that efficiently. And I think what you would expect to see from us is a very holistic conversation about what are the strategic things that help us become a leader in the BEV space that help us continue to lead when it comes to affordability and all the drivers that help us in accretive businesses that do that. But also at the same time, making sure, I think, as we’re entering an environment where the macro environment is tougher, where cash isn’t free, where we need to be thinking about what’s the best use of the cash we have and do we really get the returns we want for those investments. So –
Patrick Hummel: Thank you, Natalie.
Natalie Knight: So, that will be my answer to that question.
Patrick Hummel: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. And we’ll now take our last question from Tim Rokossa at Deutsche Bank.
Tim Rokossa: Yeah. Thank you very much, Natalie. I have three questions, please. The first one is, obviously, you have a super interesting and extensive experience across several industries. I’m certain you had a lot of views going into this job and pan due diligence. What surprised you the most to the downside versus your expectations with all the negativity that especially investors put into the space? Secondly, just to clarify this, you already said you want to be an efficient cash flow machine. I think we all appreciate this. Will a buyback program be a crucial component of your return strategy over the next few years once this one is done? And finally, you guys always lobbied for a level playing ground and fair rules. Has the Leapmotor cooperation or anything else that happened, changed your view on this potential tariffs that may come from Chinese imports into the EU US pro or con? Thank you.
