Investments

In light of the current macroeconomic environment, we have significantly trimmed our capex for 2023 to 5.3 billion euros – 1 billion euros less than the figure of 6.3 billion euros announced in February 2023. In addition, we will reduce capex further by a total of around 3 billion euros over the next four years. Thus, for the five-year period from 2023 to 2027, planned capex will be 24.8 billion euros – 4 billion euros lower than our original budget of 28.8 billion euros. While reducing the overall capex, we remain fully committed to our growth projects and our transformation towards climate neutrality.

With the cut in capex, we are not simply postponing investments. We are reducing the number of projects, will implement alternative measures that involve lower capex and take advantage of the subdued market environment to lower investment costs, as our procurement team in China is impressively demonstrating.

On February 23, 2024, we will present the new capex budget for the planning period from 2024 to 2028.