Increase in global contract volume of Daimler Financial Services in the third quarter 2008

Daimler Financial Services division expanded its worldwide contract volume by 11% to €63.9 billion in the third quarter. Compared with the prior year, 15 additional companies were consolidated for the first time, most of them in Eastern Europe and Asia. Without this effect and adjusted for exchange-rate effects, the increase was 9%. Compared with the prior-year period, new business increased by 19% to €7.7 billion; adjusted growth amounted to 18%.

Third-quarter EBIT of €173 million reported by Daimler Financial Services was higher than the figure of €87 million posted in 2007. The result for the prior-year period had been significantly impacted by the expense of setting up an independent financial services organization in the NAFTA region following the transfer of a majority interest in the Chrysler business. The other main reason for the earnings improvement was the expanded contract volume. A further increase in cost of risk had a negative effect on the division’s earnings.

Daimler Financial Services assumes that it will achieve a return on equity of approximately 14% in full-year 2008. A moderate increase in contract volume is expected compared with the end of 2007.