Thaindian News

Chennai, April 25 (IANS) Luxury car major Daimler AG Monday said it has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a non-banking finance company for its financial services business in the country.

“India is one of the fastest growing automotive markets and Daimler Group has high expectations from this market,” said Richard Howard, member of the board of management of Daimler Financial Services AG, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

“Every second passenger car and every fourth commercial vehicle from Daimler is financed or leased by us. We will initially invest upwards of $50 million as part of market entry,” he added.

The company’s financial services in India will support the sales of Mercedes-Benz cars and Daimler trucks as the market has a huge demand for financing solutions in the country.

The company will provide services like leasing, insurance and dealer financing for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

“By providing customised finance and insurance solutions to dealers and customers, we intend to enrich the ownership experience of Mercedes-Benz and Bharat Benz branded automotive products, under the Mercedes-Benz Financial and Bharat Benz financial labels,” said Sidhartha Nair, managing director of Daimler Financial Services India Private Limited.

Daimler Financial Services AG, the financial services arm of Daimler AG based in Berlin, has shown strong growth in the three other BRIC markets - Brazil, Russia and China.

Until year-end 2010, contract volume of Daimler Financial Services in Russia increased by 25 percent compared to the year before, in Brazil the increase was at 35 percent, and in China even at 100 percent, the official said.