Mercedes 2009 Annual Report Download - page 137

In the third quarter of 2009, Daimler Financial Services started
business operations in the United Arab Emirates as part of a
joint venture with the local Mercedes-Benz importers, Al Fahim
Group and Gargash Enterprises. The United Arab Emirates is
the most important sales market for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in
the Middle East. Daimler Financial Services will now provide
attractive financial services to customers and dealerships in this
market, thus continuing its expansion into important markets
of the future.
Lower contract volume in North America but growth in South
America. In the Americas region, total contract volume fell by
11% to €22.9 billion. Adjusted for exchange-rate effects, the de-
crease also amounted to 11%. However, contract volume devel-
oped very positively in the South American markets of Brazil and
Argentina, rising by 32% to €3.2 billion.
In order to optimize refinancing in the US market, receivables in
the region of approximately US $1 billion were securitized in
the form of asset backed securities (ABS). The transaction was
oversubscribed by several times the available amount and was
TALF-eligible. The TALF program (Term Asset-Backed Securities
Loan Facility) allows investors to furnish their ABS securities
acquired from issuers as collateral for non-recourse loans from
the US central bank (the Federal Reserve). In Argentina, bond
issues of ARS 160 million were placed in order to refinance our
business in that market, and were very well received by investors.
In the J.D. Power survey of dealer satisfaction in the United States,
Mercedes-Benz Financial took first place in two of the three main
categories. In Canada, J.D. Power judged Mercedes-Benz Financial
to be the best provider of financial services in terms of dealer
satisfaction in the leasing category. And Daimler Truck Financial
once again took first place in the annual survey of satisfaction
among truck dealers carried out by the American Truck Dealer
Association in the United States.
Successful development of insurance business. The division
further expanded its activities in the area of insurance services
despite the crisis. In 2009, more than 690,000 insurance policies
were brokered worldwide, representing an increase of 4% com-
pared to the prior year. Progress was also made with the integra-
tion of insurance into vehicle sales last year. A good example of
this is the launch of the new E-Class, for which special insurance
conditions are available in more than 20 countries for cars
equipped with certain safety packages. We also concluded several
global cooperation agreements with selected insurance groups.
Integrated service routing guarantees that customers have their
automobiles repaired in contracted Mercedes-Benz repair shops
with original spare parts and in original equipment quality. In this
way, we secure high-quality services for our customers and
generate important revenue in the repair and spare-parts business.
Higher market share of fleet management with commercial
customers. Daimler Financial Services increased its market share
of fleet management with commercial customers in the reporting
period. Despite the shrinking overall market, it expanded its share
of the Mercedes-Benz fleet-management market to 89%. One
reason for this success is that the focus on small and medium-
sized fleets has borne fruit: Approximately three quarters of
Daimler Financial Services’ business with commercial customers
is now in this segment. Daimler Financial Services offers com-
prehensive fleet-management solutions to smaller companies as
well as major international fleet operators, including financing
and leasing, repair and maintenance, tires and fuel-card manage-
ment.
Toll Collect toll system continues to run smoothly. The toll
system for trucks using German highways continued its stable and
trouble-free operation in 2009. By the end of the year, 640,900
onboard units were in use for the automatic recording of highway
tolls. A total of 24.4 billion truck-kilometers were recorded.
Daimler Financial Services holds a 45% equity interest in the Toll
Collect consortium.
Daimler Financial Services is a solid und reliable partner for dealers and customers also in times of crisis.
Divisions |Daimler Financial Services |133