FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — Thanks to a new offering from Mercedes-Benz Financial, its customers can now access personalized account management features using smartphones like BlackBerry, Droid and other mobile devices with Internet capability.

This is an expansion of what the company already offers via mobile devices. It rolled out an application for the iPhone last fall. 

To take advantage of the access, company officials explained that account holders first must register online at www.Mercedes-BenzFinancial.com. Detailed instructions for smartphone users now are available at www.Mercedes-BenzFinancial.com/mobile.

Executives went on to mention that all smartphone users — even those who are not customers of Mercedes-Benz Financial — can locate the nearest Mercedes-Benz authorized dealer, contact a customer service representative and see what's new from Mercedes-Benz Financial.

Furthermore, they pointed out that current Mercedes-Benz Financial account holders can make a payment, view their account summary and request a payoff quote.

"We are closing in on 10,000 downloads of our iPhone App which validates our decision to expand our mobile capabilities to all customers who are smartphone users," noted Andreas Hinrichs, vice president of marketing for Mercedes-Benz Financial.

"By expanding our mobile services to smartphone users, more of our customers will enjoy the conveniences of connecting with us from the palm of their hand," Hinrichs added.