Daimler Financial Services restructures its fleet management activities in France

Daimler Financial Services sold its French subsidiary DCS Fleet to LeasePlan on February 27. The sale is subject to the approval of the French antitrust authorities, which is expected before the end of April 2008. DCS Fleet has around 70 employees who currently manage 20,000 vehicles. LeasePlan will become the sole owner of the company.

The sale of DCS Fleet is part of the restructuring of Daimler Financial Services’ business activities with commercial customers of passenger cars in Europe. The DCS Fleet portfolio includes a high proportion of major fleets with a large share of non-Group vehicles. However, Daimler's aim in the future is to concentrate more strongly than before on managing small and medium-sized fleets consisting mostly of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, as Daimler Financial Services expects to see above-average market opportunities in this segment in the coming years.

“We continue to view the fleet business in France as an interesting growth segment,” says Mathias Herrmann, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services France, the Daimler Financial Services subsidiary in that country. The company has successfully realigned its fleet management strategy over the past few months and will cooperate closely in the future with Mercedes-Benz France’s sales organization to offer attractive full-service leasing solutions to customers in the premium segment.

Mercedes-Benz Financial Services France offers leasing, financing, insurance, and full-service solutions for passenger cars and commercial vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz, smart, Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge brands. The DFS subsidiary has around 200 employees and manages a portfolio worth €1.8 billion.

The Daimler Fleet Management subsidiary of Daimler Financial Services is represented in ten European countries, Israel, and South Africa, and manages a portfolio of 460,000 vehicles. The company’s range of services includes leasing, insurance, maintenance and repair, tire management, damage claims management, and fuel card sales.

Additional information about Daimler Financial Services is available in the internet: www.daimler-financialservices.com