Simon Foulds speaks to Mike Honiball, sales director at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services (MBFS), to find out what are the advantages of a fleet owner purchasing their vehicles through an original equipment manufacturer’ s (OEM) own finance house.

What are the advantages of operators financing their trucks through the MBFS as opposed to other finance houses?
MH MBFS offers a wide variety of financial products with innovative options, such asseasonal- and skip payments, to suit our customers’ revenue stream.These financial products include innovative leasing options, some potentially qualifying as off-balance sheet or residual values to keep the customer’s monthly cash outlay manageable.In addition, we ensure peace of mind to the customer with our extensive insurance offerings.

How does having in-house financing create an advantage for MBSA within the marketplace?
The in-house finance company is part of the Mercedes-Benz value chain.Our staff has extensive knowledge of the transport industry and understands the needs of the customers.Our close-knit relationship with MBSA provides our customers with a one-stop shopping experience.We give the OEM finance departments a platform to talk to the industry.

How important is it for MBSA to offer in-house finance?
In-house financing is part of the value offering to our customers and is centrally controlled.The OEM is comfortable that the customer receives what is promised through the tailor-made finance, maintenance and insurance offers.

How much of a competitive advantage does it give an OEM in today’s business climate?
The advantage is that the MBSA can control the process and can offer the client a complete value proposition without relying on a thirdparty.

Does having the option of in-house financing attract potential customers who might be considering two different truck manufacturers?

We are trying to make it easier for our clients to operate their fleet by offering a one-stop-shop service – by offering a complete value chain offer. Other manufacturers without this option might lose a client that does not want to run around and get all the products that an in-house company provides.

Can any operator apply for your in-house financing or is it only available to long-established customers and only becomes applicable when a certain amount of trucks are purchased?
Any operator that buys a vehicle via our franchise dealer network can apply for finance with MBFS.

How flexible is the in-house finance department during tough economic times in assisting customers?
MBFS only finances MBSA products and during the tough economic times we could not pull out of the commercial vehicle market. We had to become very innovative to survive the difficult times with our customers. By restructuring the finance agreements to match our client’s cash flows and working closely with clients to work outa suitable plan, we kept many clients in their vehicles to operate and earn an income.

How do you assist customers in structuring the best deal for them?
With our knowledge of the transport industry we can offer a tailor-made solution to our customers to match their cash flow and life expectancy of the vehicle.

What advice would you give to customers and potential customers who are in the market to purchase trucks – before they decide on their financing options?
Customers must evaluate the total cost of ownership of a vehicle;we understand the business and will offer a package that suits the needs of our clients.