Daimler finance arm expects record year after 1H gains

(L-R) Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Markus Schaefer, Member of the Divisional Board of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Stanislaw Tillich, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Frank Blome, Managing Director of Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE GmbH & Co. KG, visit the Daimlers first battery factory prior to the beginning of the ground breaking ceremony for the second battery factory at Daimler subsidiary ACCUMOTIVE in Kamenz, Germany, in this May 22, 2017 photo. (REUTERS)

BERLIN: Daimler’s finance arm said it was heading for another record year after signing nearly 1 million new leasing and finance contracts between January and June.
Daimler Financial Services, which handles customer financing and leasing for the German carmaker, expects a significant increase in new business this year and further growth in leasing and finance contracts, backed by expanding sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, it said on Sunday.
New business at the division jumped 19 percent in the first six months to €34.7 billion ($40.77 billion), with earnings before interest and tax up 15 percent, the company said.
The portfolio of globally financed and leased vehicles increased 17 percent to 4.6 million vehicles with a total sales value of €134 billion, the Stuttgart-based company said.
The company more than doubled the number of customers worldwide using its mobility services, including Car2Go car sharing to 14.5 million people, it said.