DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus opened in Moscow

Berlin / Moscow – DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus officially opened on November 7, 2007. The bank’s headquarters are in Moscow. Established by Daimler AG, the financial institute offers loans to private and commercial customers for new and used vehicles, which is enabling Daimler dealers in Russia to offer their customers a broader range of financial services than before.

In keeping with the renaming of DaimlerChrysler AG to Daimler AG, DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus will become Mercedes-Benz Bank Rus following approval by the Russian Central Bank. An application for approval of the name change was submitted to the central bank in October 2007.

Since 1999, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Rus has been helping to boost sales of Daimler vehicles in Russia by offering leasing products and motor vehicle insurance. “The establishment of DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus makes us the first foreign automaker to have its own bank and leasing company in Russia. It means we are now able to offer the complete range of financial services from a single source,” said Daimler Financial Services CEO Jürgen Walker at a press conference in Moscow.

“For us this is exactly the right time to enter Russia’s rapidly growing vehicle market,” Walker explained. Russia is currently the world’s eighth-largest automotive market, and registrations of new vehicles are likely to exceed two million units by the end of this year — as many vehicles as will be registered in France, for example. Market observers are also predicting that the Russian automotive market will catch up with Germany by 2015, when new registrations will surpass the three million mark. And the consumer credit market is growing even more dynamically than the motor vehicle market in Russia: 40 percent of all new vehicles are already being financed in the country today, and this figure is expected to reach 50 percent in a few years. The contract volume of DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Rus are expected to increase fivefold, from the current €80 million to €400 million. Under the “Chrysler Financial” brand, both companies will continue to offer financial services in Russia for vehicles produced by Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge.

To support its partners in the automobile trade, DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus has begun to set up an electronic point of sale system at the dealerships. All processes between the dealerships and DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus can be conducted electronically, from applications for financing to the approval stage. This ensures fast decision-making when it comes to approving credit applications and processing contracts. Many Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler dealers in Moscow and St. Petersburg are already linked to this system. All partner dealers in Russia are expected to be able to use the new system by early 2008. Beginning in January 2008, DaimlerChrysler Bank Rus will also be offering the Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler dealers financing for their inventories.

With its new financial services offerings in Russia, the Berlin-based Daimler Financial Services AG is expanding its global presence. The Daimler Group’s international provider of financial services employs about 6,700 men and women and is represented in more than 40 countries. The company finances or leases one of every three vehicles produced by Daimler worldwide, and its total contract volume is approximately €57.6 billion. Daimler Financial Services operates in 21 countries in Europe, where it manages a portfolio exceeding €26 billion.