BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 27

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Fleet business activities attain new magnitude
The BMW Group operates internationally in the field
of multi-brand fleet business via the Alphabet group
of companies as a provider of financing, full-service
leasing and fleet management services. Business
volumes expanded rapidly in 2007 following the ac-
quisition of DEKRA SüdLeasing Services GmbH (re-
named to: BMW Fuhrparkmanagement Beteiligungs
GmbH) and as a result of continued organic growth.
Alphabet has commenced operations in Mexico,
thus establishing a foothold for the first time on the
American continent. Operations have also been
taken up in Denmark, which means that Alphabet is
now represented throughout the whole of Scandina-
via. The international customer base also grew sig-
nificantly in the 15 countries where Alphabet oper-
ates. At the year-end, the contract portfolio covered
279,843 units, up by 55.6 % compared to the end
of the previous year. Excluding the contracts taken
over in conjunction with the acquisition of DEKRA
SüdLeasing Services GmbH (renamed to: BMW
Fuhrparkmanagement Beteiligungs GmbH), the vol-
ume increased by 21.2 %. Thanks to organic growth
and targeted acquisitions, a major provider of fleet
business services has meanwhile emerged in Ger-
many within the BMW Group stable. The BMW
Group has also moved into a new magnitude in this
dynamic business sector in international terms and
is now one of the top ten fleet service providers in
Europe.
Continued growth in the area of insurance
business
In addition to credit financing and lease contracts,
the Financial Services segment also operates as an
agent for motor vehicle, residual liability and other
vehicle-related insurance policies. These services
are now being offered in more than 30 markets via
cooperation arrangements entered into with local
insurance companies. The segment continued its
strategy of expanding insurance business with cus-
tomers in international markets and entered into
new cooperation agreements with partners in India,
China, Greece, Hungary, Argentina and Portugal.
The range of products on offer in existing markets
was also expanded and new products launched on
the markets in Italy and Spain.
These measures contributed to the fact that
new insurance business grew by 12.2 % in 2007
with 395,039 insurance contracts signed. At the
end of 2007, the Financial Services segment had
a worldwide portfolio of 947,394 insurance con-
tracts.
Deposit business influenced by increased
competition
The intense level of competition in the area of de-
posit business remained evident in 2007. The seg-
ment’s deposit volume worldwide at 31 December
2007 amounted to euro 5,732 million and there-
fore 0.8 % lower than the figure recorded one year
earlier.
The main success factors for investment fund
business were the exclusive certificates introduced in
the previous year and the new fund-of-funds product
concept Comfort Invest. The unabated trend to-
wards private old-age pension arrangements by
making regular transfers to investment funds also
had a positive impact. In order to meet the growing
advisory needs of customers, the range of services
on offer in Germany was expanded accordingly,
including the opportunity for customers to obtain in-
vestment advice by telephone.
By the year-end, the number of customer deposit
accounts had increased by 6.0 % to 31,801.
BMW and MINI Card activities increased world-
wide in 2007. At the end of the year under report,
the Financial Services segment serviced 393,741
credit card accounts, 15.9 % more than one year
earlier. The BMW Card is available in eleven countries.
The MINI Card is part of the product range offered
in Germany, the USA, the United Kingdom and
Japan.
Awards for service quality
The excellent cooperation between the Financial
Services segment and the dealer organisation re-
ceived recognition in 2007 with a number of awards
won. The BMW Group was presented the J. D. Power
and Associates Dealer Satisfaction Award in both
the USA and Japan.
A strong, customer-friendly approach repre-
sents an important factor for the ongoing success of
the BMW Financial Services segment in the area of
retail customer business. This was documented in
2007 by the presentation of the J. D. Power and
Associates Customer Satisfaction Award to BMW
Group Financial Services in the USA.