NEWSLETTER FOR CUSTOMERS OF DAIMLER TRUCK FINANCIALQ4 2013

Customer Source

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From the Front Line – Fleet Services Sets the Pace

Customer Spotlight - Lessors, Inc.

Detroit Connect – Telematics Serving Our Customers

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At Daimler Truck Financial (DTF) customer satisfaction is our number one priority because we know that a successful long-term partnership with you requires constant dialogue for continuous improvement. Each year DTF asks customers to complete an annual customer satisfaction survey. We take your feedback very seriously and create new processes, programs and tools to change the way we do business to better serve you.

Based on the excellent feedback we received in our 2012 customer satisfaction survey, we have been hard at work in 2013 on an important group of projects to improve the way we work with you.

New Website – As you’ll see in an article on page 3, we launched our brand new website in July, designed to be responsive and greatly improve your interaction with us, including optimized mobile capabilities.

Special Program Information on the Website – On our new website, we now include an easily-accessed section that details all of the special programs we are currently offering.

Improved Credit Application Turnaround Times – To improve the speed that we process credit applications, we completed several internal process changes that have resulted in quicker turnaround times for all of our customers; owner-operators, small businesses, vocational, municipal and fleet customers.

Enhanced Interactive Voice Response System – Now customers have the choice to utilize our Interactive Voice Response system to connect directly to a Client Services agent or to make a payment, get a payoff quote and hear account details.

Dedicated Vocational Credit Team – We created a team of credit specialists to meet the unique needs of our vocational customers and provide them a more streamlined, focused support.

New Customer-Focused Brochures – We redesigned all of our brochures. They are now focused on the needs of specific customers, whether you’re an owner-operator, small business, vocational, municipal or fleet customer. Your dealer can provide them to you or you can download them from the Resources section on our website.

Our complete list of improvements for 2013 is much longer than this sample, however from these examples you can see that we listen to your suggestions, take them seriously and work hard to find ways to improve the way we interact with you.

Improving Our Processes, Programs and Tools to Better Serve You

Daimler Truck Financial was founded in 1974 as the captive finance arm for Daimler Trucks North America. Today we are the largest captive finance company managing a portfolio that exceeds $8 billion dollars, over 20,000 customers and more than 100,000 vehicles. We have over 200 dedicated commercial vehicle sales and credit professionals to assist you. Yet even with our size, we are consistently rated as the top captive commercial vehicle lender by industry-wide surveys. With nearly 40 years in the business, our goal is still to treat every customer individually and approach each situation as a unique finance opportunity.

From the Front Line – Fleet Services Sets the Pace

“Faced-paced” are the words Emily Rutherford, Fleet Services Supervisor, Daimler Truck Financial, uses to describe a typical day for the Fleet Services team. “Our first call may be to obtain refinance papers for a balloon, then it’s sending copies of contracts and titles, answering questions on an invoice or producing a special report,” she states. “But no matter what the request is, we make it happen for our customers.”

Daimler Truck Financial’s (DTF) Fleet Services group is located in Fort Worth, Texas, and provides

customer support for fleet customers, which represents a roughly $4.8 billion portfolio of commercial vehicles. All of the questions and requests for these accounts are handled by Fleet Services, representing about 5,000 customer contacts each month. And based on continued customer feedback, they are doing an excellent job.

One main reason for this stellar customer service is the relationship Fleet Services has with other internal departments at DTF. “For many requests, other departments need to be involved,” states Emily. “But rather than asking the customer to make those contacts directly, we take the ownership and work inside the organization to help the customer. So we work hard at maintaining good working relationships with our internal partners.”

Making life easier for fleet customers is a constant goal of Fleet Services. “Each customer has a unique situation and our goal is to make it as easy as possible for the customer,” comments Emily. “For example, one of our customers has over 100 locations, with vehicles at each one. They had originally set up payment accounts at each location and were making over 100 payments each month. It became a nightmare for them to manage. We helped them consolidate those

payments into just one wire transfer each month. This was a huge timesaving benefit to them. They are thrilled with the result.”

Like other groups at DTF, Fleet Services has been working its “checklist” of initiatives based on 2012 customer satisfaction survey responses from fleet customers. “We have 11 major initiatives that we have focused on this year,” states Emily. “Seven are complete and the remaining four will be finished by the end of the year.” One of these initiatives was assuming the responsibilities of helping lease customers with their finance/lease options as their leases matured. For these maturing leases, Fleet Services can assist in the outright purchase of the truck, refinancing the residual into a new lease contract or rolling it into a 12-month renewal, all based on the customer’s needs. Fleet Services takes on the entire responsibility so there is only one contact point for the customer.

Fleet Services looks forward to receiving customer feedback from the 2013 customer satisfaction survey. “We always receive valuable feedback and excellent ideas from our customers,” Emily says. “We look forward to working on 2014 initiatives to improve our service even more.”

“Just a little note to let you know how impressive your Fleet Services department continues to be. I’ve probably dealt with three or four different people there and they’ve all been extremely helpful and knowledgeable in answering any question. This last time I requested the copies of the fronts and backs of eight titles. I was hoping to get them sometime the next day but I got them in about an hour and a half. I wish all of our lenders provided such service!”

Hogan Truck Leasing

Daimler Truck Financial (DTF) and its brand partners from Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) are pushing the envelope to bring you better customer service, whether it is offering you a comprehensive set of lease and finance options, or providing exceptional customer service at the dealership. Nowhere is that support more visible than with DTNA’s Elite Support Certified dealers.

Elite Support is a collaborative effort between DTNA and its truck dealers, focused on improving the customer experience at dealerships. It offers a comprehensive support network of dealers that are trained and certified to provide the highest level of knowledge, professionalism and service in the trucking industry.

Elite Support Certified dealers are held to the highest customer service standards in the industry. You can expect to experience the following standards at every Elite Support Certified location:

• Rapid Diagnosis

•Exceptional Turnaround with Quality Workmanship

•Consistent Communication

•Excellent Parts Availability

•Superb Customer Service

All of us at Daimler Truck Financial and Daimler Trucks North America are working together to provide the best service for your truck and financing needs. As of October 15, 2013, there are 122 Elite Support Certified dealers (and counting) across North America. The next time you need truck support, head to an Elite Support Certified dealer to experience the difference. For more information about Elite Support, go to: EliteSupportDealer.com.

“Every Elite Support Certified dealer has a Continuous Improvement Coordinator (CIC) on staff to ensure the location regularly meets and exceeds certification requirements. The CIC collaborates with peers across the Elite Support network to stay up-to-date on the latest best practices and conducts regularly scheduled Continuous Improvement events in order to meet and improve the standards of customer satisfaction.”

Jennifer Stevenson, Director, Distribution Development, Daimler Trucks North America

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“The Fleet Services team continually looks in the mirror to assess our performance based on customer feedback. Whether it’s a soft-skill way of improving communication with our customers or “hard” changes to systems and processes, we do what is necessary so we can handle anything that comes our way.”

Emily Rutherford, Fleet Services Supervisor, Daimler Truck Financial

Elite Support Program Growing Every Day

122 Elite SupportLocations

• Optimized with the latest design technology to be compatible with today’s diverse set of computers, tablets and smartphones, so it can be accessed anywhere at any time

• Features a modern and sleek design with intuitive navigation that lets visitors find the information they need quickly and easily

As part of our ongoing effort to provide the best experience for you, Daimler Truck Financial recently launched its new customer website, daimler-truckfinancial.com. In July, we put the final touches on the newly designed website, using the latest technology to give our customers an easy-to-use site that’s informative, attractive and accessible. We listened to your input and completely redesigned the site so it’s easier than ever to find the information you need. Enhancements to the website include a number of time-saving designs:

New Customer Website Launched!

Whether at his desk or out of town on a trip, James Shapiro is connected to his company. He is never without a “device” to keep tabs on the business and communicate with his staff. James is the owner of Lessors, Inc., headquartered in Eagan, MN. Started with just one truck and trailer in 1983, Lessors has grown to a fleet of over 400 trucks and 500 trailers, specializing in a temperature-controlled operation as well as hauling entertainment and electronics equipment for the music industry.

“We know that to stay competitive in this industry and service our customers properly, a company must be technology-savvy,” states James. “We work hard at keeping our trucks, trailers and our systems at state-of-the-art levels to ensure that.” The vast majority of the power units in Lessors’ fleet are Freightliner Cascadias. James states: “We started working with Freightliner and their dealer, Truck Country, back in 2001. At that time, we were purchasing Columbias. That’s also when we were introduced to Daimler Truck Financial.”

Up until the last six years, Lessors had a very consistent and solid growth pattern. That changed dramatically when James completed two large acquisitions, one in Florida and another in Idaho. “DTF had been a good supplier and partner for us early on, but their real test came when I started to expand my company through acquisitions. That’s the time when a true partnership stands out,” says James. Working with Freightliner and Truck Country, DTF helped to dispose of older equipment and replace it with new Cascadias. “Buying other companies is not a simple process,”

states James. “We truly needed the help, advice and commitment that DTF brought to the table.”

Today, the Lessors fleet is young and technologically advanced. The majority of its tractors are Cascadias on a three-year trade cycle. Reefer vans are on a four-year cycle. Lessors uses satellite communications for asset tracking, onboard monitoring and controlling of reefer trailers and for general customer service. “Our customers want to know the status of their loads, and they want to know we’ll get them delivered properly and on time,” James states. “The ability to purchase this technology is a strategic advantage for us.” This technology, coupled with an always-keen eye on the business, allows Lessors to boast a remarkable 98.75% on-time delivery record.

James appreciates the partnership that has developed between Lessors and DTF. “DTF helps us acquire the new trucks and technology to keep our fleet efficient. They provide us great day-to-day service and support and are easy to do business with. And when the times comes for a special project, like a potential acquisition, their team is very responsive and ready to help us.”

There’s no doubt that James’ heart and soul is his business. And because of that, it takes a lot for a finance company to earn his trust. Daimler Truck Financial is pleased to have earned James’ trust, and is dedicated to the partnership as Lessors, Inc. continues its growth and success into the future.

Customer Spotlight —

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Lessors, Inc. – Growth Based on Service, Technology and Single-Minded Determination

www.daimler-truckfinancial.com Take a look at the latest statistics for the new website. Our customers are using it often!

Customer Payments per month

Customer Payoff Requests per month

Locate a Dealer Requests/July - Oct

7,500+

1,650+

632

• Full of rich, customer-focused content to help you understand our complete range of finance, lease and insurance solutions for your business

• Easy to check balances, request payoffs, view payment options, make payments and seek support, including payment calculators to help you explore finance scenarios for your new equipment

If you haven’t already, be sure to take the time to visit the site. If you’d like, once on the home page of the site you can select and watch a short video entitled, “Get Up to Speed Now with Our New Site” that highlights the many new features that are available.

With the launch of our new website, we are well positioned to provide fast and efficient information to our customers, wherever you are and whenever you need us.

Every day we hear about new technology and innovations that help us in our daily lives, but every so often there is something so revolutionary that it really stands out from the crowd. One of those special innovations for the trucking industry is Detroit Connect™.

Daimler Trucks North America has partnered with Detroit™ to provide you with critical links between your vehicles, your business and your support. It’s called Detroit Connect – a suite of new, state-of-the-art technological products that help fleets and owner-operators better manage their trucks, reduce their downtime and lower their operating costs.

Here’s an overview of the suite of products that “connect” you with Detroit and your trucks.

Virtual TechnicianThe cornerstone of the Detroit Connect suite is Virtual Technician. Virtual Technician is Detroit’s proprietary on-board diagnostics package for Freightliner and Western Star trucks. It offers a telematics solution that records and reports critical vehicle performance data used to interpret fault codes and provides preliminary diagnosis.

Visibility Fleet SoftwareAnother product offered in the Detroit Connect suite is called Visibility fleet software. Whereas, Virtual Technician records critical events that generate fault codes, Visibility fleet software lets you track your entire fleet down to individual trucks, routes and drivers, 24 hours a day.

On-Board TabletThe third product of the Detroit Connect system is the On-Board Tablet. This one device makes it easy for you to track hours of service, keep drivers informed, perform inspections and provide advanced navigation. This great new device will be available in January.

For more information about Detroit Connect, go to: DemandDetroit.com/Connect

One component of our Customer Proposition represents the guiding

principles that help define our day-to-day behavior—our Core Values.

We are committed to providing excellent financial services that create

value for our customers, contribute to the success of our business

partners and provide rewarding opportunities for our employees and

the communities in which we live. And through openness, respect and

financial responsibility, we empower our people to provide superior

service to our customers.

Core Values

1 Actual rates, terms, down payment and program eligibility will be determined by DTF’s Credit team based upon creditworthiness of the customer. Program rates or terms may be changed or the program may be terminated at any time at the sole discretion of DTF. Program incentives cannot be combined with any other DTF offer.2 Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated and managed by Citi® Prepaid Services. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted.

©2013 Daimler Truck Financial is a business unit of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC. All rights reserved.

Customer Source is a publication of Daimler Truck Financial. Contact us: at dtf@dtfoffers.com.

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Daimler Truck Financial recently announced the Detroit Drive Finance Program in partnership with Western Star and Detroit. For a limited time, eligible customers who order a Western Star truck with Detroit components and finance or lease it with Daimler Truck Financial1 will receive Detroit’s Virtual Technician (VT), a VT Service Contract and a Western Star Service Support prepaid card2.

If you haven’t checked out this program yet, contact your Western Star dealer right away!

Hurry, the offer expires on December 31, 2013.

Detroit Connect™ – Telematics Serving Our Customers

Detroit Drive Finance Program!

“When a truck is equipped with the Detroit Connect onboard diagnostic system, fleet oversight software and in-cab integration products, customers can rest assured knowing that the engine experts at Detroit are “connected” and “on the road” with every driver in every truck.”

Joe Saccio, Detroit Connect Sales and Marketing Manager, Daimler Trucks North America

Virtual TechnicianTM Visibility fleet software On-Board Tablet