Mercedes 2002 Annual Report Download - page 52

46 |Services
New business was down only slightly, to 151.8 billion
(-4%), despite the increased use of incentive programs
in the United States, particularly in the second half of
the year. The decrease was due to changes in the value
of the US dollar. Fleet management activities were
significantly expanded in 2002, with the managed fleet
totaling around 300,000 vehicles at year end, an
increase of 10% on the prior year.
Contract volume of 1109.3 billion was down 15% from
the prior year, mainly due to changes in the relative
value of the US dollar. The sale of a substantial part of
the Capital Services portfolio also contributed to the
reduction.
With a total portfolio of 183.1 billion (2001: 1103.4
billion), North America remains the most important mar-
ket for DaimlerChrysler Services. In Germany, contract
volume increased by 6% to 112.2 billion as a result of
sales-promotion activities. In the other countries of the
European Union contract volume rose from 18.7 billion
in 2001 to 19.1 billion last year, and our leasing and
sales-financing business in the Asia/Pacific region also
expanded.
Workforce numbers rose 8% in the year under review,
to 10,521. At the end of 2002, a total of 5,426 people
were employed by DaimlerChrysler Services in the
NAFTA region, and 2,510 in Germany.
Growing importance of financial services in a
difficult market environment
Economic conditions in DaimlerChrysler’s key sales
markets remained very difficult in 2002, particularly in
the United States, where the market was characterized
by very high sales incentives. In this situation Daimler-
Chrysler Services’ financial-services activities played
a key role in supporting the sale of Group vehicles and
contributed correspondingly to the overall success of
DaimlerChrysler. One out of every three vehicles sold
was either financed by or leased from DaimlerChrysler
Services. DaimlerChrysler Services concluded leasing
and sales financing contracts for 2.0 million new vehi-
cles worldwide in 2002, meaning that approximately
8,000 Group vehicles were sold each day with the sup-
port of our financial services. In view of this situation,
methods for controlling credit risks and residual-value
risks are becoming increasingly important. By further
improving coordination between DaimlerChrysler Ser-
vices and the sales organizations of the vehicle divi-
sions, we intend to achieve a more customer-oriented
linkage between the Group’s products and the corre-
sponding services offered to our customers. One result
of this strategy has been the creation of global partner-
ship agreements between DaimlerChrysler Services
and the automotive divisions. These agreements include
market-specific regulations for the treatment of
the residual-value risks associated with lease returns.
The new North American headquarters of DaimlerChrysler Services
provide an open, creative and innovative working atmosphere.