Mercedes 2013 Annual Report Download - page 165

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D | The Divisions | Daimler Financial Services
Expansion of digital sales channels. In 2013, Daimler
Financial Services expanded the online availability of its prod-
ucts in order to remain close to its customers in the digital
world as well. With the help of websites and apps that are clearly
organized and easy to use, customers can access comprehen-
sive information about the company’s services and can find out
the monthly installments for their chosen car. In many coun-
tries, existing customers can also use online portals to review
their contract data and make any desired changes. In the
United States, some of these functions have already been directly
integrated into Daimler vehicles’ onboard infotainment systems.
High levels of customer and dealer satisfaction. The out-
standing quality of the services provided by Daimler Financial
Services once again received numerous honors in the year
under review. In Germany, the industry magazine “Autohaus”
named Mercedes-Benz Bank the best provider of automotive
financial services in the premium segment for the fifth year
in succession. In addition, the “Autohaus” insurance monitor
once again named Mercedes-Benz Bank as by far the best
provider of automotive insurance in the premium segment.
The financial services offered by Mercedes-Benz Bank also
took first place in a test purchase study commissioned by the
automotive magazine “Automobilwoche.” In a survey of dealer
satisfaction in the United Kingdom, Daimler Financial Services’
national subsidiary beat its competitors for the seventh time
in a row. In the United States, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services
took first place for the third consecutive year in the “Floor-
plan Satisfaction” category of a dealer financing study conducted
by J.D. Power. In China, the call center of the Mercedes-Benz
Auto Finance Company China was honored as the country’s best
call center in its class.
A highly attractive employer. In the survey conducted in 2013
by the independent “Great Place to Work” institute, Daimler
Financial Services once again stood out as an attractive employer.
The national subsidiaries of Daimler Financial Services were
among the favorite employers in Portugal, the Netherlands,
Turkey, China, South Korea, Canada and Mexico. For some of
the national subsidiaries, this was a repeated honor.
Toll Collect continued to operate smoothly in 2013.
This automatic system for toll collection on German highways
continued to operate smoothly and reliably in 2013. Approx-
imately 775,300 onboard devices for automatic toll collection
were in operation at the end of the year. A total of 27.2 billion
kilometers driven was recorded during the year under review.
Daimler Financial Services holds a 45% equity interest in
the Toll Collect consortium.
Record set for automotive insurance brokerage. In the year
under review, Daimler Financial Services brokered approxi-
mately 1.27 million automotive insurance policies. This repre-
sents an increase of 20% compared with the previous year
and is a new record. The development of demand for our insur-
ance policies was particularly good in India (+208%) and
Turkey (+145%). In China, an average of six out of ten cars with
the star were delivered with an insurance policy brokered
by us. Thanks to our cooperation with major insurance compa-
nies, Mercedes customers receive attractive insurance con-
ditions for their vehicles and can have their automobiles repaired
in authorized workshops in the case of damage.
Growth also in the business with commercial customers.
In 2013, Daimler Financial Services once again helped individual
commercial customers, medium-sized companies and major
international corporations in numerous countries to finance and
manage their vehicles and fleets. New business stood at
146,000 units, which represents a 16% increase on the previous
year. A total of 357,000 contracts with commercial customers
were on the books – a 9% increase compared with 2012. In addi-
tion, Daimler Fleet Management realigned its activities and
expanded its presence in Europe. In the United Kingdom for
example, Daimler Fleet Management has been offering
attractive services for multi-brand fleets in cooperation with
its partner Leasedrive since the fourth quarter of 2013.
car2go with nearly 600,000 customers. In 2013, we continued
to expand our business operations in the area of innovative
mobility services. At the end of the year, the car2go mobility
concept was represented in 25 cities in Europe and North
America and was operating a fleet of more than 10,000 smart
fortwo cars. In 2013, car2go attracted more than 300,000
new customers worldwide, thus more than doubling its customer
base compared with the end of 2012. With a total of nearly
600,000 customers, car2go was the market leader in the seg-
ment of flexible short-term car rentals. The moovel mobility
platform, which intelligently connects various mobility services
with one another and shows customers how best to get
from point A to point B via various means of transportation,
was launched in 2013 in the cities of Nuremberg and Munich
and in the Rhine-Ruhr region. In addition, the Park2gether
pilot project was launched in Berlin and Hamburg in November.
This innovative project uses an online exchange to bring
together parking space owners and drivers seeking a parking
space.