Daimler Mobility -- a subsidiary of Daimler Group, which owns Mercedes-Benz -- officially kicked off operations in South Korea on Tuesday, offering a long-term car rental program. 

Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea is the first of its kind globally and the fourth entity of the Daimler Group to launch operations in Korea. 

The company said it will offer a tailor-made mobility product under its concept of “mobility at your fingertips.”

“We will offer one- to five-year long-term premium rental program of sedans, coupes and SUVs, with no down payment,” MBMK CEO Guillaume Fritz told reporters during the launch ceremony of Daimler Group’s new entity, which recently changed its name from Daimler Financial Services to Daimler Mobility.

“The definition of mobility (for us) is to help our customers move easily from one place to another,” Fritz said, saying that its premium long-term rental service will operate under three key concepts: fast, easy and digital experience for mobility. 

According to MBMK, its long-term rental car program will be operated under the slogan “From years to minutes,” meaning that it will continue to shorten the rental period down to meet the Korean customers’ demand for “higher flexibility of driving a car.” 

The company said such a service reflects the shifting consumer trend from owning cars to sharing them.

Its business will be operated under two legal entities. Mercedes-Benz Financial Service will be responsible for financing, leasing and insurance service, while MBMK will be in charge of long-term rental and mobility solutions. 

MBMK said it will collaborate with local vendors in terms of digitalizing its service, such as going fully paperless and making the entire procedure digital.

For the first 100 customers who register for the long-term rental program, MBMK said it will offer 1 million won voucher that can be used at gas stations and 500,000 won-worth premium car wash voucher.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)