DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Expands Call Center Operations to Serve Hispanic Customers in Mexico and the United States
Spanish Americas Contact Center Highlights Commitment to Customer Service Excellence - Automotive Finance Company Invests in Growing Hispanic Market in the United States
MONTERREY, Mexico, June 4 / -- DaimlerChrysler Financial Services expanded operations of its newly-established Spanish Americas Contact Center (SACC) in Monterrey, Mexico, to include Hispanic customers in both Mexico and the United States, the company announced today. The step highlighted the growing importance of Spanish-speaking customers to the automotive and automotive finance industries.
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services recently opened a new, 23,000 square foot facility in Monterrey, Mexico's second-largest city. The customer service center is primarily dedicated to assisting customers of Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles in Mexico and Spanish-speaking Chrysler Financial customers in the United States. The center anticipates an annual volume of approximately two million phone calls from and to Spanish-speaking customers in Mexico and the United States.
"After more than a year of planning and in collaboration with the Mexican government, we are pleased to start serving our Spanish-speaking customers in both Mexico and the United States from our location in Monterrey," said Paul Knauss, Vice President of Operations of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC and incoming President and CEO of Chrysler Financial. "We envision Chrysler Financial's new customer contact center to emerge as an international focal point in customer service excellence."
Hispanic consumers represent the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States. By the year 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that approximately 25 percent of U.S. households will speak Spanish as their first language, up from only 13 percent just two years ago. According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth, the buying power of Hispanic consumers is estimated to reach $1.2 trillion three years from now, up from $764 billion in 2005. In 2004, eight percent of new vehicle sales in the United States were attributed to Hispanic customers.
The customer contact center employs more than 180 full- and part-time employees. Roughly two-thirds of the SACC workforce will manage calls from and to customers of primarily Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge passenger cars in Mexico; the remaining customer service representatives will assist Hispanic customers in the United States.
The Spanish Americas Contact Center complements the company's service- related activities to Spanish-speaking customers in the United States, including bi-lingual Web sites, contracts, a variety of collateral materials and financial education programs tailored to the needs of the Hispanic community.
The United States and Mexico are among the top five growth markets for automotive finance products and services in the world. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services has provided automotive finance solutions for more than 40 years in the United States. It entered the Mexican market place under the brand name "Chrysler Comercial" in 1981 and today conducts business as DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Mexico.
About DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC
DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC provides brand-specific financing for automotive dealers' inventories and their retail consumers, and conducts business as Chrysler Financial and Mercedes-Benz Financial. As DaimlerChrysler Truck Financial, it also finances commercial vehicles for affiliate products such as Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star. The company serves as the headquarters for operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, and has approximately 5,600 employees who manage a portfolio of more than $106 billion with nearly five million contracts. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC is a company of the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Group, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, which operates in more than 40 countries with an employee base of close to 11,000 and a global portfolio of approximately $149 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services is one of the leading financial services organizations worldwide. For more information on DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC, visit their Web site at http://www.daimlerchryslerfinancialservices.com/na.
FCMN Contact: sk298@daimlerchrysler.com
Source: DaimlerChrysler Financial Services
CONTACT:Stephan Koller of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services,
+1-248-202-1707, or sk298@dcx.com; or Amber Gowen of Chrysler Financial,
+1-248-427-3126, or arp11@dcx.com
Web site: http://www.daimlerchryslerfinancialservices.com/na
