Natalie Knight: They’ll be fully consolidated in our results. What you’ll see just in terms of the accounting more generally is that, everything that’s coming through the JV because it’s – we have the 51% will come in the AOI line, and we will, of course, take the minority piece out below. And in terms of the proceeds that we have from Leapmotor overall will come in, in that line as well below, but also contribute to our EPS.
Thomas Besson: Clear. Thank you very much.
Natalie Knight: Super.
Operator: Thank you. We’ll now take our next question from Dorothee Cresswell at BNP Paribas Exane. Your line is open. Please go ahead.
Dorothee Cresswell: [technical difficulty] question. I have two left, and they’re both in relation to the international joint venture that you’ve agreed with Leapmotor. So first, can I ask for how long the joint venture actually has complete exclusivity to distribute the Leapmotor products outside of China? And then I also wanted to understand how far you can use the Leapmotor 3.0 platform to make vehicles for the other Stellantis Group brands? Thank you.
Natalie Knight: Great. Thank you for that question, Dorothee. In terms of the exclusivity with the JV, we haven’t released that number, but it is long-term in nature. So quite long-term in nature is what I would say. In terms of the – utilizing their platforms, that is not part of the current arrangement. It’s really focused on how do we help Leapmotor in terms of their business in China and exporting the products outside of China. One of the things, you’re right, though, that we’re very excited about are what are the opportunities for other cooperation going forward. So you’ve mentioned one example in terms of what could you do in terms of a technology or product point of view, one could also think about are there things on the purchasing side.
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.
