It is 3:00 o'clock and the number two of the pre-close calls held today, prior to our Q3 report. As usual, we start off by going through the quarter so far, and then after that, we open up for Q&A. As usual, we will start with the macroeconomic environment. The global macro environment has remained challenging through the third quarter to date, with continued low visibility across key regions and no clear broad-based improvement in consumer sentiment. In the Euro area, consumer confidence improved slightly during the quarter but remained subdued. The European Commission's August flash estimate showed Euro area consumer confidence at -15.5, edging up from July but still below its long-term average, underlining continued household caution around purchasing power and the broader economic outlook. In the U.S., consumer sentiment remained soft in historical terms and weakened again in August. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index declined to 51.7 in August from 55.2 in July, reflecting continued pressure on household confidence, affordability, and expectations for the economy. In China, macro conditions have remained uneven, with continued fragility in household consumption and a highly competitive auto market. Domestic car demand has remained under pressure during the quarter, with passenger vehicle sales declining sharply year-on-year in both July and August. At the same time, Chinese manufacturers continue to expand internationally, supported by strong export momentum, increasing competitive pressure in overseas markets, and that includes Europe. Moving over to state of the industry, Mobility Global most recent forecast, published in July, the global premium segment is now expected to contract by 5% in 2026, compared with the 4% decrease forecasted in April. The U.S. premium segment is expected to contract by 6% in 2026, and Europe to contract by 1%, and China premium market to contract by 14%, marking a sharp deterioration since April. Moving over to more specific Volvo Cars, starting with revenues. As I am sure you all know, reported retail sales for July and August showed a 13% volume decline quarter- to- date, with July down 8% and August down 19%. As communicated throughout 2026, we continue to aim for a balance between retail deliveries and wholesale volumes. FX remains a headwind, primarily driven by the Turkish TRY. Discount levels remained elevated. This is especially valid in China, where we see continued high discount levels in combination with low demand. Moving over to gross margin. It continues to be affected negatively by elevated discount levels. Freight costs are elevated and are mainly driven by higher crude oil prices. FX remains a headwind here as well, primarily driven by the Chinese CNY and the Turkish TRY. With lower volumes than in Q3 2025 and with higher depreciations, gross margin is negatively impacted. As mentioned in the first half of the year, due to the delayed financial impact of higher raw material costs, Q3 is expected to be impacted to a greater extent than Q2 and Q1. Moving over to EBIT margin. As seen throughout 2026, depreciations and amortizations have increased compared with 2025 and are expected to continue rising as we launch new and upgraded products. This trend is evident both year-over-year and sequentially. FX remains a headwind also here, primarily driven by the Chinese CNY and the Turkish TRY. As we are in the process of launching new products, a continued lower capitalizations rate than seen in 2025 is to be expected. Following the debt-to-equity conversion in Polestar, the book value of our holdings is now above zero. As a result, we will again recognize our share of Polestar's net profit or loss with a one-quarter delay. This means that we will start accounting for their net income in Q3. Our current holdings in Polestar amounts to 19.9%. For Q3 specifically, this means 19.9% of Polestar's net income in Q2. Last but not least, moving over to free cash flow, which continues to be affected by ongoing investments, including the SPA3 platform and the finalization of the Košice plant. However, as mentioned in Q1 as well as in Q2, investments in H2 should be lower than in H1. That was all for me for now. We can now take some questions. If you would like to ask a question, please use the hand-raising tool within Teams. I'll hand over the word to you. Agnieszka. Hi, welcome. Please go ahead. Hi. Thank you so much. A couple of questions from my side. The Investor Day last week, you talked about a bit slower than expected ramp-up of the EX60. I just wonder if it does create any inefficiencies or an extra cost in Q3 specifically? Yes, as was mentioned during the investor strategy update last week, the ramp-up is progressing well. But as always, when you start ramping up a completely new car on a completely new platform, there are obstacles, so to say. The EX60 and the ramp-up of the EX60 is no exemption from that. Now, whether it's related to any specific costs or so, it's no information that I have received at least. Okay, thank you. Then maybe on tariffs, do you expect to receive any tariff refunds in the quarter and any benefit from that? Good question. Not sure, to be honest. I do not know, [Carl] Fredrik, have you heard anything more specific on that that we can share? No, but I think we can expect some reimbursements on tariffs. I do not think it will be any large amounts. Okay. All right. Then last from me, just I do not know if you can provide any direction to the profitability performance in Q3 versus Q2. Just listening to you, it seems like there are quite many headwinds which are getting a bit larger. Do you see any offsets that could support profitability? Volume is a big driver, of course, and that you have access to already. Then we have chosen to highlight also the freight costs and raw materials. We don't have the result yet, so it's difficult to say if there's any positives picking up in the end of the quarter, but not any major positives, I think. Okay. That's all from me. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else who would like to ask a question? Nope. Doesn't seem like it is. Then I could just add that if you would have any follow-up questions or so, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or the broader investor relations team here at Volvo Cars. Until next time, thank you for listening in and have a continued great day, and see you on October 23rd. Thank you all. Bye.
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