DaimlerChrysler Middle East is the representative entity that coordinates the marketing, pricing, warehousing, as well as distributor after-sales support and technical support for automobile brands owned by the Daimler and Chrysler companies (formerly the combined DaimlerChrysler company) in the Middle East region.
DaimlerChrysler Middle East was the result of the 1999 merger between Daimler-Benz, which opened its Mercedes-Benz regional office in Dubai in 1998, and Chrysler International, which had been operating in the Gulf since 1991.
The company's automotive business is divided into three areas: the Mercedes Car Group, which consists of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, SLR McLaren, and smart; the Chrysler Group, which consists of Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep; and the commercial vehicles division, which consists of vans, busses and trucks such as Freightliner, Western Star, and Orion. DaimlerChrysler also has a financial services division that provides its dealers and customers with leasing, financing, insurance and fleet management services. It operates in 40 countries and manages a contract volume of EUR113 billion (USD153.3 billion).
DaimlerChrysler Middle East sold 31,917 units in 2006 and achieved over USD1 billion in revenues, as compared to DaimlerChrysler's total worldwide unit sales of 1,252,000 units.
The Mercedes Car Group sold a record 15,675 commercial vehicles in 2006, a 12.8% increase over the previous year. Sales of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge cars reached 10,092 unites in 2006, which represented a 43% rise over 2005.
DaimlerChrysler officially broke the merger when it divested 80.1% of its shares in its Chrysler division to a private equity firm for USD7.4 billion in May 2007. In addition to retaining 19.9% in Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler later changed its name to Daimler after the transaction.