Daimler Financial Services Opens Business in Romania

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

* Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Romania provides financing, leasing, and insurance for private and corporate customers

* Electronic point-of-sale system enables quick credit decisions and contract processing

* Target: Medium-term contract volume of �300 million

* Further expansion: Daimler Financial Services is one of the leading captive financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe

Berlin/ Bucharest, Germany / Romania, Sep 18, 2008 � With the launch of business operations in Romania, Berlin-based Daimler Financial Services AG has entered yet another growth market for financial services in Central and Eastern Europe. Under the brand name Mercedes-Benz Financial Services the company officially opened its business on September 18th, 2008 in Bucharest.


The new company offers loans, leasing contracts, and insurance solutions. This product portfolio serves private and corporate customers of new and pre-owned passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Mercedes-Benz dealers in Romania can now provide customers with a broad range of financial services from a single source.
�Daimler Financial Services continues to expand in Central and Eastern Europe,� said Daimler Financial Services CEO J�rgen Walker at a press conference held in Bucharest. �We�re already one of the leading captive financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe today � and our business operations in Romania will improve our position here even further.�

Romania is the third-largest automotive market in Central and Eastern Europe, following Russia and Ukraine. Passenger car sales in the country rose 20% in 2007 to more than 321,000 units, and commercial vehicle sales were up 25% to almost 50,000 units last year. Sales of Daimler-brand vehicles have been even stronger. Mercedes-Benz sold about 2,400 passenger cars in 2007, or 42% more than in the prior year, while sales of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles even increased by 80% to 4,500 units.

�We expect sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles to further develop positively,� said Michael Grewe, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Romania SRL. �What�s more, the fact that we can now � just at the right time � offer our own financial services here will help to further increase the attractiveness of the Mercedes-Benz brand for our dealers and customers in Romania.�

Andreas Lehr, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Romania, said: �Our nearly 15 years of experience in the financial services sector in Central and Eastern Europe are a solid foundation for a successful start in Romania. Our target for the medium term is to achieve a contract volume of �300 million in Romania. In order to reach this target, we will offer dealers and customers our complete range of financial services products and excellent service from Day One.�

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services will support its dealership partners by offering them an electronic point-of-sale system. It will enable all of the processes linking dealerships and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Romania � from loan applications to credit approvals � to be run electronically. This will result in faster credit decisions and higher customer satisfaction. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services offers financing and insurance products to the dealerships themselves.

Daimler Financial Services has Central and Eastern European subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, and Russia. With its new financial services offerings in Romania, Daimler Financial Services AG is further expanding its global presence. The Daimler Group�s international provider of financial services employs about 7,200 people and is represented in more than 40 countries. The company currently finances or leases one out of every three vehicles produced by Daimler worldwide, and manages a contract volume of more than �60 billion.

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