<PAGE>   1
                                 UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 10-K

[X]     ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
        ACT OF 1934 [NO FEE REQUIRED, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 7, 1996].

                   For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000
                                             -----------------

                                       OR

[ ]     TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
        EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 [NO FEE REQUIRED]

                 For the transition period from            to          .
                                               ------------  ----------

                         Commission file number 0-23886

                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          California                                      94-3186624
(State or other jurisdiction of             (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
incorporation or organization)

 One Front Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco, California              94111
      (Address of principal executive offices)                      (Zip Code)

        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (415) 677-8990

          Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

                                                      Name of each exchange on
        Title of each class                               which registered
        -------------------                           -------------------------

          Not Applicable
     -------------------------


           Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

                     UNITS OF LIMITED PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                (Title of Class)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X]. No [ ].

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405
of Regulation S-K (Section 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and
will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive
proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this
Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. [X]

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the
registrant is not applicable.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                        Documents incorporated by Reference
<S>                                            <C>
PART I
Item 1 - Business                              Prospectus of Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P., dated December 17, 1993
                                               included as part of Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 33-69356)
</TABLE>



<PAGE>   2

                         PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION


Item 1.  Business

    (a)  General Development of Business

    The Registrant is a limited partnership organized under the laws of the
State of California on August 26, 1993, for the purpose of owning and leasing
marine cargo containers, special purpose containers and container-related
equipment. The Registrant was initially capitalized with $100 and commenced
offering its limited partnership interests to the public subsequent to December
17, 1993, pursuant to its Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No.
33-69356). On October 12, 1994, the Registrant filed a Post-Effective Amendment
to its Registration Statement on Form S-1. The offering terminated on December
15, 1995.

    The Registrant raised $143,031,380 in subscription proceeds. The following
table sets forth the use of said subscription proceeds:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                      Percentage of
                                                       Amount         Gross Proceeds
                                                    -------------     -------------
       <S>                                          <C>               <C>
       Gross Subscription Proceeds                  $ 143,031,380             100.0%


       Public Offering Expenses:
            Underwriting Commissions                $  14,303,138              10.0%
            Offering and Organization Expenses      $   2,977,551               2.1%
                                                    -------------     -------------

            Total Public Offering Expenses          $  17,280,689              12.1%
                                                    -------------     -------------

       Net Proceeds                                 $ 125,750,691              87.9%

       Acquisition Fees                             $   5,918,588               4.1%

       Working Capital Reserve                      $   1,460,334               1.0%
                                                    -------------     -------------

       Gross Proceeds Invested in Equipment         $ 118,371,769              82.8%
                                                    =============     =============
</TABLE>


    The general partner of the Registrant is Cronos Capital Corp. ("CCC"), a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Cronos Holdings/Investments (U.S.), Inc., a Delaware
corporation. These and other affiliated companies are ultimately wholly-owned by
The Cronos Group, a holding company registered in Luxembourg (the "Parent
Company") and are collectively referred to as the "Group". The activities of the
container division of the Group are managed through the Group's subsidiary in
the United Kingdom, Cronos Containers Limited (the "Leasing Company"). The
Leasing Company manages the leasing operations of all equipment owned by the
Group on its own behalf or managed on behalf of other third-party container
owners, including all other programs organized by CCC.

    On December 1, 1993, the Leasing Company entered into a Leasing Agent
Agreement with the Registrant assuming the responsibility for all container
leasing activities.

    For a discussion of recent developments in the Registrant's business, see
Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result
of Operations."

    For information concerning the containers acquired by the Registrant, see
Item 2, "Properties."

                                       2
<PAGE>   3


    (b) Financial Information About Segments

    The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 131, "Disclosures about Segments of an
Enterprise and Related Information," which requires that public business
enterprises report financial and descriptive information about reportable
operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise that
engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur
expenses, whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's
chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated
to the segment and assess its performance, and about which separate financial
information is available. The Leasing Company's management operates the
Registrant's container fleet as a homogenous unit and has determined, after
considering the requirements of SFAS No. 131, that as such it has a single
reportable operating segment.

    The Registrant derives revenues from dry cargo containers, refrigerated
containers and tank containers. As of December 31, 2000, the Registrant operated
25,724 twenty-foot, 8,608 forty-foot and 2,132 forty-foot high-cube marine dry
cargo containers, as well as 462 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube
refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks. A
summary of gross lease revenue earned by the Leasing Company, on behalf of the
Registrant, by product, for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998
follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                       2000             1999             1998
                                   -----------      -----------      -----------
     <S>                           <C>              <C>              <C>
     Dry cargo containers          $13,591,916      $13,972,075      $16,856,861
     Refrigerated containers         1,870,593        1,909,509        2,020,429
     Tank containers                   723,562          745,917          957,237
                                   -----------      -----------      -----------

     Total                         $16,186,071      $16,627,501      $19,834,527
                                   ===========      ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


    Due to the Registrant's lack of information regarding the physical location
of its fleet of containers when on lease in the global shipping trade, it is
impracticable to provide the geographic area information required by SFAS No.
131. Any attempt to separate "foreign" operations from "domestic" operations
would be dependent on definitions and assumptions that are so subjective as to
render the information meaningless and potentially misleading.

    No single sub-lessee of the Leasing Company contributed more than 10% of the
Leasing Company's rental revenue earned during 2000, 1999 and 1998 on behalf of
the Registrant.

    (c)  Narrative Description of Business

    (c)(1)(i) A marine cargo container is a reusable metal container designed
for the efficient carriage of cargo with a minimum of exposure to loss from
damage or theft. Containers are manufactured to conform to worldwide standards
of container dimensions and container ship fittings adopted by the International
Standards Organization ("ISO") in 1968. The standard container is either 20'
long x 8' wide x 8'6" high (one twenty-foot equivalent unit ("TEU"), the
standard unit of physical measurement in the container industry) or 40' long x
8' wide x 8'6" high (two TEU). Standardization of the construction, maintenance
and handling of containers allows containers to be picked up, dropped off,
stored and repaired efficiently throughout the world. This standardization is
the foundation on which the container industry has developed.

    Standard dry cargo containers are rectangular boxes with no moving parts,
other than doors, and are typically made of steel or aluminum. They are
constructed to carry a wide variety of cargos ranging from heavy industrial raw
materials to light-weight finished goods. Specialized containers include, among
others, refrigerated containers for the transport of temperature-sensitive goods
and tank containers for the carriage of liquid cargo. Dry cargo containers
currently constitute approximately 87% (in TEU) of the worldwide container
fleet. Refrigerated and tank containers currently constitute approximately 5%
(in TEU) of the worldwide container fleet, with open-tops and other specialized
containers constituting the remaining 8%.

    One of the primary benefits of containerization has been the ability of the
shipping industry to effectively lower freight rates due to the efficiencies
created by standardized intermodal containers. Containers can be handled much
more efficiently than loose cargo and are typically shipped via several modes of
transportation, including truck, railway and ship. Containers require loading
and unloading only once and remain sealed until arrival at the final
destination, significantly reducing transport time, labor and handling costs and
losses due to damage and theft. Efficient movement of containerized cargo
between ship and shore reduces the amount of time that a ship must spend in port
and reduces the transit time of freight moves.


                                       3
<PAGE>   4

    The logistical advantages and reduced freight rates brought about by
containerization have been major catalysts for world trade growth during the
last twenty-five years, resulting in increased demand for containerization. The
world's container fleet has grown from an estimated 270,000 TEU in 1969 to
approximately 14 million TEU by mid-2000.

    The container leasing business is cyclical, and depends largely upon the
rate of increase in world trade. The container leasing industry has experienced
cyclical downturns during the last sixteen years.

    BENEFITS OF LEASING

    Leasing companies own approximately 46% of the world's container fleet with
the balance owned predominantly by shipping lines. Shipping lines, which
traditionally operate on tight profit margins, often supplement their owned
fleet of containers by leasing a portion of their equipment from container
leasing companies and, in doing so, achieve the following financial and
operational benefits:

    -   Leasing allows the shipping lines to utilize the equipment they need
        without having to make large capital expenditures;

    -   Leasing offers a shipping line an alternative source of financing in a
        traditionally capital-intensive industry;

    -   Leasing enables shipping lines to expand their routes and market shares
        at a relatively inexpensive cost without making a permanent commitment
        to support their new structure;

    -   Leasing allows shipping lines to respond to changing seasonal and trade
        route demands, thereby optimizing their capital investment and storage
        costs.

    TYPES OF LEASES

    The Registrant's containers are leased primarily to shipping lines operating
in major trade routes (see Item 1(d)). Most if not all of the Registrant's
marine dry cargo containers are leased pursuant to operating leases, primarily
master leases, where the containers are leased to the ocean carrier on a daily
basis for any desired length of time, with the flexibility of picking up and
dropping off containers at various agreed upon locations around the world. Some
of the Registrant's containers may be leased pursuant to term leases, which may
have durations of less than one year to five years. The Registrant's specialized
containers are generally leased on longer-term leases because the higher cost,
value and complexity of this equipment makes it more expensive to redeliver and
lease out.

    -   Master lease. Master leases are short-term leases under which a customer
        reserves the right to lease a certain number of containers, as needed,
        under a general agreement between the lessor and the lessee. Such leases
        provide customers with greater flexibility by allowing them to pick up
        and drop off containers where and when needed, subject to restrictions
        and availability, on pre-agreed terms. The commercial terms of master
        leases are negotiated annually. Master leases also define the number of
        containers that may be returned within each calendar month, the return
        locations and applicable drop-off charges. Due to the increased
        flexibility they offer, master leases usually command higher per-diem
        rates and generate more ancillary fees (including pick-up, drop-off,
        handling and off-hire fees) than term leases. Short-term lease
        agreements have a duration of less than one year and include one-way,
        repositioning and round-trip leases. Ocean carriers generally use
        one-way leases to manage trade imbalances (where more containerized
        cargo moves in one direction than another) by picking up a container in
        one port and dropping it off at another location after one or more legs
        of a voyage.

    -   Term lease. Term leases are for a fixed period of time and include both
        long and short-term commitments, with most extending from three to five
        years. Term lease agreements may contain early termination penalties
        that apply in the event of early redelivery. In most cases, however,
        equipment is not returned prior to the expiration of the lease. Term
        leases provide greater revenue stability to the lessor, but at lower
        rates than master leases. Ocean carriers use long-term leases when they
        have a need for identified containers for a specified term. Short-term
        lease agreements have a duration of less than one year and include
        one-way, repositioning and round-trip leases. They differ from master
        leases in that they define the number of containers to be leased and the
        lease term. Ocean carriers generally use one-way leases to manage trade
        imbalances (where more containerized cargo moves in one direction than
        another) by picking up a container in one port and dropping it off at
        another location after one or more legs of a voyage.


                                       4
<PAGE>   5

    The terms and conditions of the Leasing Company's leases provide that
customers are responsible for paying all taxes and service charges arising from
container use, maintaining the containers in good and safe operating condition
while on lease and paying for repairs, excluding ordinary wear and tear, upon
redelivery. Some leases provide for a "damage protection plan" whereby lessees,
for an additional payment (which may be in the form of a higher per-diem rate),
are relieved of the responsibility of paying some of the repair costs upon
redelivery of the containers. The Leasing Company has historically provided this
service on a limited basis to selected customers. Repairs provided under such
plans are carried out by the same depots, under the same procedures, as are
repairs to containers not covered by such plans. Customers also are required to
insure leased containers against physical damage and loss, and against third
party liability for loss, damage, bodily injury or death.

    The percentage of equipment on term leases as compared to master leases
varies widely among leasing companies, depending upon each company's strategy or
margins, operating costs and cash flows.

    Lease rates depend on several factors including the type of lease, length of
term, maintenance provided, type and age of the equipment, location and
availability, and market conditions.

    CUSTOMERS

    The Registrant is not dependent upon any particular customer or group of
customers of the Leasing Company. None of those customers account for more than
10% of the Registrant's revenue. Substantially all of the customers of the
Leasing Company are billed and pay in United States dollars.

    The Leasing Company sets maximum credit limits for the Registrant's
customers, limiting the number of containers leased to each according to
established credit criteria. The Leasing Company continually tracks its credit
exposure to each customer. The Leasing Company's credit committee meets
quarterly to analyze the performance of the Registrant's customers and to
recommend actions to be taken in order to minimize credit risks. The Leasing
Company uses specialist third party credit information services and reports
prepared by local staff to assess credit applications.

    The Registrant is subject to unexpected loss in rental revenue from lessees
of its containers that default under their container lease agreements with the
Leasing Company.

    FLEET PROFILE

    The Registrant acquired high-quality dry cargo containers manufactured to
specifications that exceed ISO standards and are designed to minimize repair and
operating costs.

    Dry cargo containers are the most commonly used type of container in the
shipping industry. The Registrant's dry cargo container fleet is constructed of
all Corten steel (i.e., Corten roofs, walls, doors and undercarriage), which is
a high-tensile steel yielding greater damage and corrosion resistance than mild
steel.

    Refrigerated containers are used to transport temperature-sensitive
products, such as meat, fruit, vegetables and photographic film. All of the
Registrant's refrigerated containers have high-grade stainless steel interiors.
The majority of the Registrant's 20-foot refrigerated containers have high-grade
stainless steel walls, while most of the Registrant's 40-foot refrigerated
containers are steel framed with aluminum outer walls to reduce weight. As with
the dry cargo containers, all refrigerated containers are designed to minimize
repair and maintenance and maximize damage resistance.

    Tank containers are constructed in compliance with International Maritime
Organization ("IMO") standards and recommendations. The tanks purchased by the
Registrant have all been IMO-1 type tanks constructed to comply with IMO
recommendations which require specific pressure ratings and shell thicknesses.
These tanks are designed to carry highly flammable materials, corrosives, toxics
and oxidizing substances, but are also capable of carrying non-hazardous
materials and foodstuffs. They have a capacity of 21,000-24,000 liters and are
generally insulated and equipped with steam or electrical heating.

    The Registrant purchased its dry cargo containers from manufacturers in
China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Italy, Hong Kong and the
United Kingdom as part of a policy of sourcing container production in locations
where it can meet customer demands most effectively.

                                       5
<PAGE>   6

    The Registrant's refrigerated containers were purchased mainly from Korean
manufacturers. The majority of its refrigeration units were purchased from
Carrier Transicold, the primary container refrigeration unit supplier in the
United States.

    The Registrant's tank containers were purchased mainly from United Kingdom
manufacturers.

    As of December 31, 2000, the Registrant owned 25,724 twenty-foot, 8,608
forty-foot and 2,132 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well
as 462 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers,
and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks. The following table sets forth the
number of containers on lease, by container type and lease type as of December
31, 2000:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                  Number of
                                                             Containers on Lease
                                                             -------------------
       <S>                                                   <C>
       20-Foot Dry Cargo Containers:
           Term Leases                                               3,540
           Master Leases                                            15,097
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                      18,637
                                                                    ======

       40-Foot Dry Cargo Containers:
           Term Leases                                               1,453
           Master Leases                                             4,619
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                       6,072
                                                                    ======

       40-Foot High-Cube Dry Cargo Containers:
           Term Leases                                                 310
           Master Leases                                             1,261
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                       1,571
                                                                    ======

       20-Foot Refrigerated Cargo Containers:
           Term Leases                                                 224
           Master Leases                                               202
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                         426
                                                                    ======

       40-Foot High-Cube Refrigerated Cargo Containers:
           Term Leases                                                  97
           Master Leases                                                 1
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                          98
                                                                    ======

       24,000-Liter Tank Containers:
           Term Leases                                                 103
           Master Leases                                                62
                                                                    ------
                Total on lease                                         165
                                                                    ======
</TABLE>


    The Leasing Company makes payments to the Registrant based upon rentals
collected from ocean carriers after deducting certain operating expenses
associated with the containers, such as the base management fee payable to CCL,
certain expense reimbursements payable to CCC and CCL, incentive fees payable to
CCC, the costs of maintenance and repairs not performed by lessees, independent
agent fees and expenses, depot expenses for handling, inspection and storage,
and additional insurance.

                                       6
<PAGE>   7

    REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE

    All containers are inspected and repaired when redelivered by a customer,
and customers are obligated to pay for all damage repair, excluding wear and
tear, according to standardized industry guidelines. Depots in major port areas
perform repair and maintenance that is verified by independent surveyors or the
Leasing Company's technical and operations staff. Before any repair or
refurbishment is authorized on older containers in the Registrant's fleet, the
Leasing Company's technical and operations staff reviews the age, condition and
type of container, and its suitability for continued leasing. The Leasing
Company compares the cost of such repair or refurbishment with the prevailing
market resale price that might be obtained for that container and makes the
appropriate decision whether to repair or sell the container. The Leasing
Company is authorized to make this decision on behalf of the Registrant and
makes these decisions by applying the same standards to the Registrant's
containers as to its own containers.

    MARKET FOR USED CONTAINERS

    The Registrant estimates that the period for which a dry cargo or
refrigerated container may be used as a leased marine cargo container ranges
from 10 to 15 years. Tank containers generally may be used for 12 to 18 years.
The Leasing Company, on behalf of the Registrant, disposes of used containers in
a worldwide market in which buyers include wholesalers, mini-storage operations,
construction companies and others. As the Registrant's fleet ages, a larger
proportion of its revenue will be derived from selling its containers.

    OPERATIONS

    The Registrant's container leasing and marketing operations are conducted
through the Leasing Company in the United Kingdom, with support provided by area
offices and dedicated agents located in San Francisco, California; Iselin, New
Jersey; Hamburg; Antwerp; Genoa; Gothenburg, Sweden; Singapore; Hong Kong;
Sydney; Tokyo; Taipei; Seoul; Rio de Janeiro; Shanghai and Madras, India.

    The Leasing Company also maintains agency relationships with over 25
independent agents around the world, who are generally paid commissions based
upon the amount of revenues they generate in the region or the number of
containers that are leased from their area. The agents are located in
jurisdictions where the volume of the Leasing Company's business necessitates a
presence in the area but is not sufficient to justify a fully-functioning
Leasing Company office or dedicated agent. Agents provide marketing support to
the area offices covering the region, together with limited operational support.

    In addition, the Leasing Company relies on the services of over 300
independently-owned and operated depots around the world to inspect, repair,
maintain and store containers while off-hire. The Leasing Company's area offices
authorize all container movements into and out of the depot and supervise all
repair and maintenance performed by the depot. The Leasing Company's technical
staff sets the standards for repair of its owned and managed fleet throughout
the world and monitors the quality of depot repair work. The depots provide a
vital link to the Leasing Company's operations, as the redelivery of a container
into a depot is the point at which the container is off-hired from one customer
and repaired in preparation for re-leasing to the next.

    The Leasing Company's global network is integrated with its computer system
and provides 24-hour communication between offices, agents and depots. The
system allows the Leasing Company to manage and control the Registrant's fleet
on a global basis, providing it with the responsiveness and flexibility
necessary to service the master lease market effectively. This system is an
integral part of the Leasing Company's service, as it processes information
received from the various offices, generates billings to the Leasing Company's
lessees and produces a wide range of reports on all aspects of the Leasing
Company's leasing activities. The system records the life history of each
container, including the length of time on and off lease and repair costs. It
also traces port activity trends, leasing activity and equipment data per
customer. The operations and marketing data is fully interfaced with the finance
and accounting system to provide revenue, cost and asset information to
management and staff around the world. The Leasing Company intends to continue
to enhance its computer system as needs arise in the future.

    INSURANCE

    The Registrant's lease agreements typically require lessees to obtain
insurance to cover all risks of physical damage and loss of the equipment under
lease, as well as public liability and property damage insurance. However, the
precise nature and amount of the insurance carried by each ocean carrier varies
from lessee to lessee. In addition, the Registrant has purchased secondary
insurance effective in the event that a lessee fails to have adequate primary
coverage. This

                                       7
<PAGE>   8

insurance covers liability arising out of bodily injury and/or property damage
as a result of the ownership and operation of the containers, as well as
insurance against loss or damage to the containers, loss of lease revenues in
certain cases and costs of container recovery and repair in the event that a
customer goes into bankruptcy. The Registrant believes that the nature and the
amounts of its insurance are customary in the container leasing industry and
subject to standard industry deductions and exclusions.

    (c)(1)(ii)  Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(iii) Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(iv)  Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(v) The Registrant's containers are leased globally; therefore,
seasonal fluctuations are minimal. Other economic and business factors to which
the transportation industry in general and the container leasing industry in
particular are subject, include fluctuations in general business conditions and
fluctuations in supply and demand for equipment resulting from, among other
things, obsolescence, changes in the methods or economics of a particular mode
of transportation or changes in governmental regulations or safety standards.

    (c)(1)(vi) The Registrant established a working capital reserve of
approximately 1% of subscription proceeds raised. In addition, the Registrant
may reserve additional amounts from anticipated cash distributions to the
partners to meet working capital requirements.

    Amounts due under master leases are calculated at the end of each month and
billed approximately six to eight days thereafter. Amounts due under short-term
and long-term leases are set forth in the respective lease agreements and are
generally payable monthly. However, payment is normally received within 45-100
days of billing. Past due penalties are not customarily collected from lessees
and, accordingly, are not generally levied by the Leasing Company against
lessees of the Registrant's containers.

    (c)(1)(vii) For the year ended December 31, 2000, no single sub-lessee of
the Leasing Company accounted for more than 10% of the Registrant's rental
income. The Registrant does not believe that its ongoing business is dependent
upon a single customer, although the loss of one or more of its largest
customers could have an adverse effect upon its business.

    (c)(1)(viii) Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(ix)   Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(x) Competition among container leasing companies is based upon
several factors, including the location and availability of inventory, lease
rates, the type, quality and condition of the containers, the quality and
flexibility of the service offered and the confidence in and professional
relationship with the lessor. Other factors include the speed with which a
leasing company can prepare its containers for lease and the ease with which a
lessee believes it can do business with a lessor or its local area office. Not
all container leasing companies compete in the same market, as some supply only
dry cargo containers and not specialized containers, while others offer only
long-term leases.

    The Leasing Company, on behalf of the Registrant, competes with various
container leasing companies in the markets in which it conducts business,
including Transamerica Leasing, GE-Seaco, Textainer Corp., Triton Container
International Ltd. and others. Mergers and acquisitions have been a feature of
the container leasing industry for over a decade and the leasing market is
essentially comprised of three distinct groups: the very large (in TEU terms)
market leaders Transamerica Leasing and GE Seaco, who between them, with fleets
of around 1.1 million TEU each in mid-2000, control in excess of one third of
the total leased fleet; a substantial middle tier of companies possessing fleets
in the 250,000 to 900,000 TEU range, and the smaller more specialized fleet
operators. In recent years, several major leasing companies, as well as numerous
smaller ones, have been acquired by competitors. The Leasing Company believes
that the current trend toward consolidation in the container leasing industry
will continue, up to a point. There appears to be an upper limit to the size of
the optimum fleet, beyond which dis-economies of scale and/or barriers against
further market share development become apparent. Furthermore, ocean carriers
have a tendency to support a number of lessors simultaneously, in order to
maximize competition and increase the number of available locations for
redelivery of containers. Economies of scale, worldwide operations, diversity,
size of fleet and financial strength are increasingly important to the
successful operation of a container leasing business. Additionally, as
containerization grows, and as regions such as South America and the Indian
sub-continent become ever bigger generators of containerized cargo,

                                       8
<PAGE>   9

customers may demand more flexibility from leasing companies regarding per-diem
rates, pick-up and drop-off locations, and the availability of containers.

    In recent years, the Leasing Company and other lessors have developed
certain internet based applications. For the Leasing Company, these applications
will allow customers access to make on-line product inquiries. The Leasing
Company is continuing to develop this side of business and will introduce other
internet options in the future, including on-line bookings for all products.

    Some of the Leasing Company's competitors with larger fleets have greater
financial resources than the Leasing Company and may be more capable of offering
lower per diem rates. In the Leasing Company's experience, however, ocean
carriers will generally lease containers from more than one leasing company in
order to minimize dependence on a single supplier. Furthermore, by having as
many suppliers as possible, the carrier is able to maximize the number of
off-hires and off-hire locations available, as typically each supplier may limit
the number of containers which can be off-hired by location. The advantage to
the carrier is that this prevents the carrier from being burdened with an excess
number of off-hired containers, which incur both storage and per diem charges,
in a low demand market.

    (c)(1)(xi) Inapplicable.

    (c)(1)(xii) Environmental Matters

    A portion of the Registrant's equipment portfolio consists of special
purpose containers, primarily refrigerated containers. Historically,
refrigerated containers have utilized a refrigerant gas which is a
chlorofluorocarbon ("CFC") compound. Countries that are signatories to the
Montreal Protocol in the environment agreed in November 1992 to restrict the use
of environmentally destructive refrigerants, banning production (but not use) of
CFCs beginning in January 1996. CFCs are used in the operation, insulation and
manufacture of refrigerated containers. All of the Leasing Company's
refrigerated containers purchased since June 1993 use non-CFC refrigerant gas in
the operation and insulation of the containers, although a reduced quantity of
CFCs is still used in the container manufacturing process. The replacement
refrigerant used in the Leasing Company's new refrigerated containers may also
become subject to similar governmental regulations. Depending on market
pressures and future governmental regulations, the Registrant's refrigerated
containers may have to be retrofitted with non-CFC refrigerants, the cost of
which will be borne by the Registrant. The Leasing Company's technical staff has
cooperated with refrigeration manufacturers in conducting investigations into
the most effective and economical retrofit plan. CCC and the Leasing Company
believe that this expense, should it be required, would not be material to the
Registrant's financial position or results of operations. In addition,
refrigerated containers that are not retrofitted may command lower prices in the
used container market.

    (c)(1)(xiii) The Registrant, as a limited partnership, is managed by CCC,
the general partner, and accordingly does not itself have any employees. At
February 28, 2001, CCC had 14 employees, consisting of 3 officers, 4 other
managers and 7 clerical and staff personnel.

    (d) Financial Information About Geographic Areas

    The Registrant's business is not divided between foreign or domestic
operations. The Registrant's business is the leasing of containers worldwide to
ocean carriers. To this extent, the Registrant's operations are subject to the
fluctuations of world economic and political conditions. Such factors may affect
the pattern and levels of world trade.

    The Registrant believes that the profitability of, and risks associated
with, leases to foreign customers is generally the same as those of leases to
domestic customers. The Leasing Company's leases generally require all payments
to be made in United States currency.

                                       9
<PAGE>   10

Item 2.  Properties

    As of December 31, 2000, the Registrant owned 25,724 twenty-foot, 8,608
forty-foot and 2,132 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well
as 462 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot high-cube refrigerated cargo containers,
and 225 twenty-four thousand-liter tanks, suitable for transporting cargo by
rail, sea or highway. The average useful life and manufacturers' invoice cost of
the Registrant's fleet as of December 31, 2000 was as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                         Estimated
                                                        Useful Life      Average Age      Average Cost
                                                        -----------      -----------      ------------
   <S>                                                  <C>              <C>              <C>
   20-Foot Dry Cargo Containers                         10-15 years        6 years        $     2,469

   40-Foot Dry Cargo Containers                         10-15 years        6 years        $     3,970

   40-Foot High-Cube Dry Cargo Containers               10-15 years        5 years        $     4,023

   20-Foot Refrigerated Cargo Containers                10-15 years        6 years        $    21,199

   40-Foot High-Cube Refrigerated Cargo Containers      10-15 years        7 years        $    24,245

   24,000-Liter Tanks                                   12-18 years        6 years        $    25,360
</TABLE>


    Utilization by lessees of the Registrant's containers fluctuates over time
depending on the supply of and demand for containers in the Registrant's
inventory locations. During 2000, utilization of the dry cargo and refrigerated
container fleet averaged 76% and 96% respectively. Utilization of the tank
container fleet averaged 78%.

    During 2000, the Registrant disposed of 235 twenty-foot, 40 forty-foot and
17 forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as one twenty-four
thousand-liter tank at an average book gain of $623 per container.

                                       10
<PAGE>   11

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

    On March 20, 2000, KM Investments, LLC, a California limited liability
company ("KM") filed a complaint in the Superior Court for the County of Los
Angeles against CCC, as general partner of the Registrant, alleging violation of
the California Revised Limited Partnership Act, breach of fiduciary duty, and
unfair competition. KM is assignee of units of limited partnership interests in
the Registrant and six other California limited partnerships (collectively, the
"Cronos Partnerships") managed by CCC, as general partner. KM, which is in the
business of making unregistered tender offers for up to 4.9% of the outstanding
limited partnership interests in limited partnerships, claimed that CCC had
wrongfully refused to provide KM with lists of the limited partners of the
Cronos Partnerships to enable KM to make unregistered tender offers to the
limited partners of the Cronos Partnerships. KM asked for declaratory relief,
damages according to proof, attorneys' fees, costs, interest, and a temporary
restraining order and/or a preliminary injunction barring CCC from giving
limited partner lists to any other party before delivering such lists to KM.

    After the Court heard challenges by CCC to KM's complaint and its first
amended complaint, which challenges were granted in part and denied in part, CCC
filed its answer to KM's first amended complaint on October 20, 2000, denying
the allegations thereof, denying that KM was entitled to any damages, and
asserting various affirmative defenses. Before conducting expensive discovery,
the parties engaged in settlement discussions, which were consummated subsequent
to December 31, 2000, when the parties agreed to the terms of a settlement.
Under the terms of the settlement, CCC will provide copies of the limited
partner lists of the Cronos Partnerships to KM, in return for a payment by KM
and KM's covenant to provide copies of any mini-tender offer materials to CCC
concurrently with their transmission by KM to the limited partners of the Cronos
Partnerships. KM has also agreed to pay for tendered limited partner units
within three (3) business days of confirmation of the transfer from CCC. The
parties have agreed to broad reciprocal releases as part of the settlement. The
settlement entails no payments by CCC or by the Cronos Partnerships to KM.

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

    Inapplicable.

                                       11
<PAGE>   12

                                     PART II


Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

    (a)  Market Information

    (a)(1)(i) The Registrant's outstanding units of limited partnership
interests are not traded on any market nor does an established public trading
market exist for such purposes.

    (a)(1)(ii)  Inapplicable.

    (a)(1)(iii) Inapplicable.

    (a)(1)(iv)  Inapplicable.

    (a)(1)(v)   Inapplicable.

    (a)(2)      Inapplicable.

    (b)         Holders

                                                         Number of Unit Holders
    (b)(1)      Title of Class                          as of December 31, 2000
                --------------                          -----------------------

                Units of limited partnership interests           8,128

    (c)  Dividends

    Inapplicable. For the distributions made by the Registrant to its limited
partners, see Item 6, "Selected Financial Data."

                                       12
<PAGE>   13

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                     Year Ended December 31,
                                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          2000              1999              1998              1997              1996
                                      ------------      ------------      ------------      ------------      ------------
<S>                                   <C>               <C>               <C>               <C>               <C>
Net lease revenue                     $ 10,272,079      $  9,652,424      $ 12,551,660      $ 13,784,688      $ 14,160,889

Net income                            $  3,167,590      $  2,364,087      $  5,470,220      $  6,578,035      $  7,791,340

Net income per unit of
    limited partnership interest      $       0.37      $       0.25      $       0.68      $       0.83      $       0.98

Cash distributions per unit of
    limited partnership interest      $       1.31      $       1.63      $       1.65      $       1.78      $       2.10

At year-end:

Total assets                          $ 88,017,878      $ 94,699,419      $104,568,280      $111,519,209      $118,967,968

Partners' capital                     $ 88,017,878      $ 94,699,419      $104,568,280      $111,519,209      $118,303,318
</TABLE>

-----------------


Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
        of Operations

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

    The Registrant's primary objective is to generate cash flow from operations
for distribution to its limited partners and during the initial years of its
operation, reinvest excess cash flow in additional equipment. Aside from the
initial working capital reserve retained from gross subscription proceeds (equal
to approximately 1% of such proceeds), the Registrant relies primarily on
container rental receipts to meet this objective, as well as to finance
operating needs. No credit lines are maintained to finance working capital.

    At December 31, 2000, the Registrant had $4,126,805 in cash and cash
equivalents, an increase of $912,654 and a decrease of $2,085,736, respectively,
from the cash balances at December 31, 1999 and December 31, 1998. Throughout
the remainder of 2001, the Registrant may use cash generated from equipment
sales to purchase and replace additional containers which had been lost or
damaged beyond repair. Amounts not used to purchase and replace containers may
be distributed to its partners.

    Cash distributions from operations are allocated 5% to the general partner
and 95% to the limited partners. Distributions of sales proceeds are allocated
1% to the general partner and 99% to the limited partners. This sharing
arrangement will remain in place until the limited partners have received
aggregate distributions in an amount equal to their capital contributions plus
an 8% cumulative, compounded (daily) annual return on their adjusted capital
contributions. Thereafter, all distributions will be allocated 15% to the
general partner and 85% to the limited partners, pursuant to Section 6.1(b) of
the Registrant's Partnership Agreement. Cash distributions from operations to
the general partner in excess of 5% of distributable cash will be considered an
incentive fee and compensation to the general partner.

    From inception through February 28, 2001, the Registrant has distributed
$70,166,886 in cash from operations to its limited partners, or 49% of the
limited partners' original invested capital. Distributions are paid monthly
based primarily on each quarter's cash flow from operations. Monthly
distributions are also affected by periodic increases or decreases to working
capital reserves, as deemed appropriate by the general partner.

                                       13
<PAGE>   14


RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

2000 - 1999

    During the first three quarters of 2000, growth in the volume of
containerized trade improved, resulting in increased demand for containers in
many locations, most significantly throughout Asia. Over the course of the final
quarter, the economic slowdown that was reported in the United States and other
worldwide locations began to affect the import and export markets of many
countries, as well as the container leasing markets worldwide. Late in the
fourth quarter of 2000, off-hire container inventories grew as redeliveries of
leased equipment increased significantly and demand declined due to reduced
export volumes, particularly within Asia. The soft market conditions at the end
of 2000 were further impacted by the shipping lines' continued purchase of new
containers for their own accounts, thereby reducing the need to supplement their
own container fleet with leased containers. Furthermore, the shipping lines
focused their efforts on repositioning their own idle containers to demand
locations in order to fulfill customer requirements. The registrant expects
these market conditions to continue through the first half of 2001.

    The primary component of the Registrant's results of operations is net lease
revenue. Net lease revenue is determined by deducting direct operating expenses,
management fees and reimbursed administrative expenses, from rental revenues
billed by the Leasing Company from the leasing of the Registrant's containers.
Net lease revenue is directly related to the size, utilization and per-diem
rental rates of the Registrant's fleet. Net lease revenue for 2000 increased by
approximately 6%, when compared to 1999.

    Gross rental revenue, a component of net lease revenue, decreased from
$16,627,501 in 1999 to $16,186,071 in 2000. This decrease was primarily the
result of lower per-diem rates partially offset by higher utilization levels.

    The Registrant's fleet size, as measured in twenty-foot equivalent units
("TEU"), and average utilization rates for the years ended December 31, 2000 and
1999 were as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                   2000           1999
                                                                 --------       --------
<S>                                                              <C>            <C>
Fleet size (measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU))
     Dry cargo containers                                          46,894         46,837
     Refrigerated containers                                          660            659
     Tank containers                                                  226            225

Average utilization rates for the year
     Dry cargo containers                                            75.8%          72.6%
     Refrigerated containers                                         96.0%          91.0%
     Tank containers                                                 77.6%          74.4%
</TABLE>


    Rental equipment operating expenses were approximately 24% of rental revenue
during 2000 as compared to 30% during 1999. The decrease was attributable to the
Registrant's higher utilization rate in 2000, and its impact on activity based
expenses such as storage and handling. Base management fees, dependent on the
operating performance of the fleet, declined $31,001 or approximately 3% during
2000 when compared with 1999.

The Registrant disposed of 235 twenty-foot, 40 forty-foot and 17 forty-foot
high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as one twenty-four thousand-liter
tank during 2000, as compared to 136 twenty-foot, 16 forty-foot and 11
forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as one twenty-four
thousand-liter tank during 1999. These disposals resulted in a gain of $182,478
for 2000, as compared to gain of $53,228 for 1999. The Registrant does not
believe that the carrying amount of its containers has been permanently impaired
or that events or changes in circumstances have indicated that the carrying
amount of its containers may not be fully recoverable. The Registrant believes
that the 2000 net gain on container disposals were a result of various factors
including the age, condition, suitability for continued leasing, as well as the
geographical location of the containers when disposed. These factors will
continue to influence the decision to repair or dispose of a container when it
is returned by a lessee, as well as the amount of sales proceeds received and
the related gain or loss on container disposals. The level of the Registrant's
container disposals in subsequent periods will also contribute to fluctuations
in the net gain or loss on disposals.

                                       14
<PAGE>   15

1999 - 1998

    The primary component of the Registrant's results of operations is net lease
revenue. Net lease revenue is determined by deducting direct operating expenses,
management fees and reimbursed administrative expenses, from rental revenues
billed by the Leasing Company from the leasing of the Registrant's containers.

    Net lease revenue is directly related to the size, utilization and per-diem
rental rates of the Registrant's fleet. Net lease revenue declined by
approximately 23% when compared to 1998, and is expected to decline in
subsequent periods as container leasing market conditions continue.

    Gross rental revenue, a component of net lease revenue, decreased from
$19,834,527 in 1998 to $16,627,501 in 1999, a decrease of 16% from the prior
year. Average dry and refrigerated cargo container per-diem rental rates each
declined approximately 9% when compared to the prior year. The average tank
container per-diem rental rate decreased approximately 8% when compared to the
prior year.

    The Registrant's fleet size, as measured in twenty-foot equivalent units
("TEU"), and average utilization rates for the years ended December 31, 1999 and
1998 were as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                   1999           1998
                                                                 --------       --------
<S>                                                              <C>            <C>
Fleet size (measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU))
     Dry cargo containers                                          46,837         46,608
     Refrigerated containers                                          659            662
     Tank containers                                                  225            227

Average utilization rates for the year
     Dry cargo containers                                            72.6%          78.4%
     Refrigerated containers                                         91.0%          92.5%
     Tank containers                                                 74.4%          86.4%
</TABLE>

    Rental equipment operating expenses were approximately 30% of rental revenue
during 1999 as compared to 24% during 1998. The increase was attributable to the
Registrant's lower utilization rate in 1999, and its impact on activity based
expenses such as storage and handling. Base management fees, dependent on the
operating performance of the fleet, declined $203,411 or approximately 15%
during 1999 when compared with 1998.

    The Registrant disposed of 136 twenty-foot, 16 forty-foot and 11 forty-foot
high-cube marine dry cargo containers, as well as one twenty-four thousand-liter
tank during 1999, as compared to 126 twenty-foot, 36 forty-foot and five
forty-foot high-cube marine dry cargo containers, and two twenty-foot and one
forty-foot high-cube refrigerated containers, as well as one twenty-four
thousand-liter tank during 1998.

                                       15
<PAGE>   16

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

    Inapplicable.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data


                                       16
<PAGE>   17

                          INDEPENDENT AUDITORS' REPORT


The Partners
Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P.


We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Cronos Global Income Fund XV,
L.P. (the "Partnership") as of December 31, 2000 and 1999, and the related
statements of operations, partners' capital, and cash flows for the years then
ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Partnership's
management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial
statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted
in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such financial statements present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of the Partnership at December 31, 2000 and
1999, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then
ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America.


/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

San Francisco, CA
February 16, 2001

                                       17
<PAGE>   18

                    REPORT OF INDEPENDENT PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS


The Partners
Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P.


We have audited the accompanying statement of operations, partners' capital and
cash flows of Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P. (the "Partnership"), for the
year ended December 31, 1998. These financial statements are the responsibility
of the Partnership's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on
these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted
in the United States of America. Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all material respects, the results of operations of the Partnership and its cash
flows for the year ended December 31, 1998, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

                                              /s/ Moore Stephens, P.C.
                                              Certified Public Accountants

New York, New York
March 5, 1999


                                       18
<PAGE>   19

                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                                 BALANCE SHEETS

                           DECEMBER 31, 2000 AND 1999


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                         2000               1999
                                                                     ------------      -------------
                    Assets
<S>                                                                  <C>               <C>
Current assets:
    Cash and cash equivalents, includes $3,966,004 in 2000 and
       $3,214,051 in 1999 in interest-bearing accounts (note 3)      $  4,126,805      $   3,214,151
    Net lease receivables due from Leasing Company
       (notes 1 and 4)                                                  1,376,889          2,276,319
                                                                     ------------      -------------

           Total current assets                                         5,503,694          5,490,470
                                                                     ------------      -------------

Container rental equipment, at cost                                   124,174,507        123,839,462
    Less accumulated depreciation (note 1)                             41,660,323         34,630,513
                                                                     ------------      -------------
       Net container rental equipment                                  82,514,184         89,208,949
                                                                     ------------      -------------

           Total assets                                              $ 88,017,878      $  94,699,419
                                                                     ============      =============

               Partners' Capital

Partners' capital (deficit):
    General partner                                                  $        684      $     (45,373)
    Limited partners (note 8)                                          88,017,194         94,744,792
                                                                     ------------      -------------

           Total partners' capital                                   $ 88,017,878      $  94,699,419
                                                                     ============      =============
</TABLE>

   The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


                                       19
<PAGE>   20

                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                            STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

              FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000, 1999 AND 1998


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                        2000            1999             1998
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------
<S>                                                 <C>              <C>             <C>
Net lease revenue (notes 1 and 6)                   $10,272,079      $9,652,424      $12,551,660

Other operating expenses:
   Depreciation and amortization (note 1)             7,293,912       7,359,112        7,298,038
   Other general and administrative expenses            179,242         207,423          215,674
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------

                                                      7,453,154       7,566,535        7,513,712
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------

     Income from operations                           2,798,925       2,085,889        5,037,948

Other income:
   Interest income                                      186,187         224,970          299,313
   Net gain on disposal of equipment                    182,478          53,228          132,959
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------
                                                        368,665         278,198          432,272
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------

     Net income                                     $ 3,167,590      $2,364,087      $ 5,470,220
                                                    ===========      ==========      ===========

Allocation of net income:
   General partner                                  $   538,510      $  565,651      $   621,489
   Limited partners                                   2,629,080       1,798,436        4,848,731
                                                    -----------      ----------      -----------

                                                    $ 3,167,590      $2,364,087      $ 5,470,220
                                                    ===========      ==========      ===========

Limited partners' per unit share of net income      $      0.37      $     0.25      $      0.68
                                                    ===========      ==========      ===========
</TABLE>

   The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

                                       20
<PAGE>   21

                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                         STATEMENTS OF PARTNERS' CAPITAL

              FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000, 1999 AND 1998

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                      Limited             General
                                     Partners             Partner              Total
                                   -------------       -------------       -------------
<S>                                <C>                 <C>                 <C>
Balances at December 31, 1997      $ 111,519,019       $         190       $ 111,519,209

Net income                             4,848,731             621,489           5,470,220

Cash distributions                   (11,800,092)           (621,057)        (12,421,149)
                                   -------------       -------------       -------------

Balances at December 31, 1998        104,567,658                 622         104,568,280

Net income                             1,798,436             565,651           2,364,087

Cash distributions                   (11,621,302)           (611,646)        (12,232,948)
                                   -------------       -------------       -------------

Balances at December 31, 1999         94,744,792             (45,373)         94,699,419

Net income                             2,629,080             538,510           3,167,590

Cash distributions                    (9,356,678)           (492,453)         (9,849,131)
                                   -------------       -------------       -------------

Balances at December 31, 2000      $  88,017,194       $         684       $  88,017,878
                                   =============       =============       =============
</TABLE>

   The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


                                       21
<PAGE>   22

                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                            STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

              FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2000, 1999 AND 1998


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                    2000               1999               1998
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------
<S>                                                             <C>                <C>                <C>
Cash flows from operating activities:
    Net income                                                  $  3,167,590       $  2,364,087       $  5,470,220
    Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from
      operating activities:
          Depreciation and amortization                            7,293,912          7,359,112          7,298,038
          Net gain on disposal of equipment                         (182,478)           (53,228)          (132,959)
          Decrease (increase) in net lease receivables due
             from Leasing Company                                    923,797            (92,869)           661,230
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

              Total adjustments                                    8,035,231          7,213,015          7,826,309
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

              Net cash provided by operating activities           11,202,821          9,577,102         13,296,529
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

Cash flows from investing activities:
    Proceeds from sale of container rental equipment                 523,453            463,894            547,660
    Purchases of container rental equipment                         (918,561)          (806,438)                --
    Acquisition fees paid to general partner                         (45,928)                --                 --
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

              Net cash provided by (used in) investing
                activities                                          (441,036)          (342,544)           547,660
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

Cash flows from financing activities
    Distributions to partners                                     (9,849,131)       (12,232,948)       (12,421,149)
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents                 912,654         (2,998,390)         1,423,040

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year                     3,214,151          6,212,541          4,789,501
                                                                ------------       ------------       ------------

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year                        $  4,126,805       $  3,214,151       $  6,212,541
                                                                ============       ============       ============
</TABLE>

   The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.

                                       22
<PAGE>   23


                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

                        DECEMBER 31, 2000, 1999 AND 1998



(1)   Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

      (a)  Nature of Operations

           Cronos Global Income Fund XV, L.P. (the "Partnership") is a limited
           partnership organized under the laws of the State of California on
           August 26, 1993, for the purpose of owning and leasing marine cargo
           containers, special purpose containers and container related
           equipment worldwide to ocean carriers. To this extent, the
           Partnership's operations are subject to the fluctuations of world
           economic and political conditions. Such factors may affect the
           pattern and levels of world trade. The Partnership believes that the
           profitability of, and risks associated with, leases to foreign
           customers is generally the same as those of leases to domestic
           customers. The Partnership's leases generally require all payments to
           be made in United States currency.

           Cronos Capital Corp. ("CCC") is the general partner and, with its
           affiliate Cronos Containers Limited (the "Leasing Company"), manages
           the business of the Partnership. CCC and the Leasing Company also
           manage the container leasing business for other partnerships
           affiliated with the general partner. The Partnership shall continue
           until December 31, 2012, unless sooner terminated upon the occurrence
           of certain events.

           The Partnership commenced operations on February 22, 1994, when the
           minimum subscription proceeds of $2,000,000 were received from over
           100 subscribers (excluding from such count Pennsylvania residents,
           the general partner, and all affiliates of the general partner). The
           Partnership offered 7,500,000 units of limited partnership interest
           at $20 per unit or $150,000,000. The offering terminated on December
           15, 1995, at which time 7,151,569 limited partnership units had been
           sold.

      (b)  Leasing Company and Leasing Agent Agreement

           The Partnership has entered into a Leasing Agent Agreement whereby
           the Leasing Company has the responsibility to manage the leasing
           operations of all equipment owned by the Partnership. Pursuant to
           the Agreement, the Leasing Company is responsible for leasing,
           managing and re-leasing the Partnership's containers to ocean
           carriers and has full discretion over which ocean carriers and
           suppliers of goods and services it may deal with. The Leasing Agent
           Agreement permits the Leasing Company to use the containers owned by
           the Partnership, together with other containers owned or managed by
           the Leasing Company and its affiliates, as part of a single fleet
           operated without regard to ownership. Since the Leasing Agent
           Agreement meets the definition of an operating lease in Statement of
           Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 13, it is accounted for as
           a lease under which the Partnership is lessor and the Leasing
           Company is lessee.

           The Leasing Agent Agreement generally provides that the Leasing
           Company will make payments to the Partnership based upon rentals
           collected from ocean carriers after deducting direct operating
           expenses and management fees to CCC and the Leasing Company. The
           Leasing Company leases containers to ocean carriers, generally under
           operating leases which are either master leases or term leases
           (mostly one to five years). Master leases do not specify the exact
           number of containers to be leased or the term that each container
           will remain on hire but allow the ocean carrier to pick up and drop
           off containers at various locations, and rentals are based upon the
           number of containers used and the applicable per-diem rate.
           Accordingly, rentals under master leases are all variable and
           contingent upon the number of containers used. Most containers are
           leased to ocean carriers under master leases; leasing agreements
           with fixed payment terms are not material to the financial
           statements. Since there are no material minimum lease rentals, no
           disclosure of minimum lease rentals is provided in these financial
           statements.

                                       23
<PAGE>   24
                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


      (c)  Concentrations of Credit Risk

           The Partnership's financial instruments that are exposed to
           concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash
           equivalents and net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company.
           See note 3 for further discussion regarding the credit risk
           associated with cash and cash equivalents.

           Net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company (see notes 1(b)
           and 4 for discussion regarding net lease receivables) subject the
           Partnership to a significant concentration of credit risk. These net
           lease receivables, representing rentals earned by the Leasing
           Company, on behalf of the Partnership, from ocean carriers after
           deducting direct operating expenses and management fees to CCC and
           the Leasing Company, are remitted by the Leasing Company to the
           Partnership three to four times per month. The Partnership has
           historically never incurred a loss associated with the collectability
           of unremitted net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company.

      (d)  Basis of Accounting

           The Partnership utilizes the accrual method of accounting. Net lease
           revenue is recorded by the Partnership in each period based upon its
           leasing agent agreement with the Leasing Company. Net lease revenue
           is generally dependent upon operating lease rentals from operating
           lease agreements between the Leasing Company and its various lessees,
           less direct operating expenses and management fees due in respect of
           the containers specified in each operating lease agreement.

           The financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting
           principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP),
           which requires the Partnership to make estimates and assumptions that
           affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure
           of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial
           statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during
           the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those
           estimates.

      (e)  Allocation of Net Income and Partnership Distributions

           Net income has been allocated between general and limited partners in
           accordance with the Partnership Agreement.

           Actual cash distributions differ from the allocations of net income
           between the general and limited partners as presented in these
           financial statements. Partnership distributions are paid to its
           partners (general and limited) from distributable cash from
           operations, allocated 95% to the limited partners and 5% to the
           general partner. Distributions of sales proceeds are allocated 99% to
           the limited partners and 1% to the general partner. The allocations
           remain in effect until such time as the limited partners have
           received from the Partnership aggregate distributions in an amount
           equal to their capital contributions plus an 8% cumulative,
           compounded (daily), annual return on their adjusted capital
           contributions. Thereafter, all Partnership distributions will be
           allocated 85% to the limited partners and 15% to the general partner.
           Cash distributions for the first 8% are charged to partners' capital.
           Cash distributions from operations to the general partner in excess
           of 5% of distributable cash will be considered an incentive fee and
           will be recorded as compensation to the general partner.

      (f)  Acquisition Fees

           Pursuant to the Partnership Agreement, acquisition fees paid to CCC
           are based on 5% of the equipment purchase price. These fees are
           capitalized and included in the cost of the container rental
           equipment. The fees are payable in two or more installments
           commencing in the year of purchase.

                                       24
<PAGE>   25
                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


      (g)  Container Rental Equipment

           In accordance with SFAS No. 121, "Accounting for the Impairment of
           Long-Lived Assets and for Long-Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of",
           container rental equipment is considered to be impaired if the
           carrying value of the asset exceeds the expected future cash flows
           from related operations (undiscounted and without interest charges).
           If impairment is deemed to exist, the assets are written down to fair
           value. Depreciation policies are also evaluated to determine whether
           subsequent events and circumstances warrant revised estimates of
           useful lives. There were no reductions to the carrying value of
           container rental equipment during 2000, 1998, and 1997.

           Container rental equipment is depreciated over a twelve-year life on
           a straight line basis to its salvage value, estimated to be 30%.

      (h)  Income Taxes

           The Partnership is not subject to income taxes, consequently no
           provision for income taxes has been made. The Partnership files
           federal and state annual information tax returns, prepared on the
           accrual basis of accounting. Taxable income or loss is reportable by
           the partners individually.

      (i)  Financial Statement Presentation

           The Partnership has determined that, for accounting purposes, the
           Leasing Agent Agreement is a lease, and the receivables, payables,
           gross revenues and operating expenses attributable to the containers
           managed by the Leasing Company are, for accounting purposes, those of
           the Leasing Company and not of the Partnership. Consequently, the
           Partnership's balance sheets and statements of operations display the
           payments to be received by the Partnership from the Leasing Company
           as the Partnership's receivables and revenues.


(2)   Operating Segment

      The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued SFAS No. 131,
      "Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information",
      which changes the way public business enterprises report financial and
      descriptive information about reportable operating segments. An operating
      segment is a component of an enterprise that engages in business
      activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses, whose
      operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief
      operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated
      to the segment and assess its performance, and about which separate
      financial information is available. Management operates the Partnership's
      container fleet as a homogenous unit and has determined, after considering
      the requirements of SFAS No. 131, that as such it has a single reportable
      operating segment.

      The Partnership derives revenues from dry cargo containers, refrigerated
      containers and tank containers. As of December 31, 2000, the Partnership
      owned 25,724 twenty-foot, 8,608 forty-foot and 2,132 forty-foot high-cube
      marine dry cargo containers, as well as 462 twenty-foot and 99 forty-foot
      high-cube refrigerated cargo containers, and 225 twenty-four
      thousand-liter tanks. A summary of gross lease revenue earned by the
      Leasing Company, on behalf of the Partnership, by product, for the years
      ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998 follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                       2000             1999             1998
                                   -----------      -----------      -----------
<S>                                <C>              <C>              <C>
      Dry cargo containers         $13,591,916      $13,972,075      $16,856,861
      Refrigerated containers        1,870,593        1,909,509        2,020,429
      Tank containers                  723,562          745,917          957,237
                                   -----------      -----------      -----------

      Total                        $16,186,071      $16,627,501      $19,834,527
                                   ===========      ===========      ===========
</TABLE>

                                       25
<PAGE>   26
                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


      Due to the Partnership's lack of information regarding the physical
      location of its fleet of containers when on lease in the global shipping
      trade, it is impracticable to provide the geographic area information
      required by SFAS No. 131.

      No single sub-lessee of the Leasing Company contributed more than 10% of
      the Leasing Company's rental revenue earned during 2000, 1999 and 1998 on
      behalf of the Partnership.


(3)   Cash and Cash Equivalents

      Cash equivalents include highly-liquid investments with a maturity of
      three months or less on their acquisition date. Cash equivalents are
      carried at cost which approximates fair value. The Partnership maintains
      its cash and cash equivalents in accounts which, at times, may exceed
      federally insured limits. The Partnership has not experienced any losses
      in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit
      risk. The Partnership places its cash equivalents in investment grade,
      short-term debt instruments and limits the amount of credit exposure with
      any one commercial issuer.


(4)   Net Lease Receivables Due from Leasing Company

      Net lease receivables due from the Leasing Company are determined by
      deducting direct operating payables and accrued expenses, base management
      fees payable, and reimbursed administrative expenses payable to CCC and
      its affiliates from the rental billings earned by the Leasing Company to
      the Partnership under operating leases to ocean carriers for the
      containers owned by the Partnership. Net lease receivables at December 31,
      2000 and 1999 were as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                               December 31,       December 31,
                                                                  2000               1999
                                                              -------------      -------------
          <S>                                                 <C>                <C>
          Gross lease receivables                             $   3,555,903      $   4,570,004
          Less:
          Direct operating payables and accrued expenses            988,524            802,646
          Damage protection reserve (note 5)                        353,669            203,241
          Base management fees payable                              325,402            344,992
          Reimbursed administrative expenses                        175,266             77,649
          Allowance for doubtful accounts                           336,153            865,157
                                                              -------------      -------------

          Net lease receivables                               $   1,376,889      $   2,276,319
                                                              =============      =============
</TABLE>


(5)   Damage Protection Plan

      The Leasing Company offers a repair service to several lessees of the
      Partnership's containers, whereby the lessee pays an additional rental fee
      for the convenience of having the Partnership incur the repair expense for
      containers damaged while on lease. This fee is recorded as revenue when
      earned according to the terms of the rental contract. An accrual has been
      recorded to provide for the estimated costs incurred by this service. This
      accrual is a component of net lease receivables due from the Leasing
      Company (see note 4). The Partnership is not responsible in the event
      repair costs exceed predetermined limits, or for repairs that are required
      for damages not defined by the damage protection plan agreement.

                                       26
<PAGE>   27
                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(6)   Net Lease Revenue

      Net lease revenue is determined by deducting direct operating expenses,
      base management fees and reimbursed administrative expenses to CCC and its
      affiliates from the rental revenue earned by the Leasing Company under
      operating leases to ocean carriers for the containers owned by the
      Partnership. Net lease revenue for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999
      and 1998 was as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                            2000             1999             1998
                                                        -----------      -----------      -----------
<S>                                                     <C>              <C>              <C>
      Rental revenue                                    $16,186,071      $16,627,501      $19,834,527
      Less:
      Rental equipment operating expenses                 3,964,939        4,945,410        4,784,036
      Base management fees (note 7)                       1,110,439        1,141,440        1,344,851
      Reimbursed administrative expenses (note 7):
           Salaries                                         564,094          465,040          549,781
           Other payroll related expenses                    51,484           79,391           94,997
           General and administrative expenses              223,036          343,796          509,202
                                                        -----------      -----------      -----------

                                                        $10,272,079      $ 9,652,424      $12,551,660
                                                        ===========      ===========      ===========
</TABLE>


(7)   Compensation to General Partner and its Affiliates

      Base management fees are equal to 7% of gross lease revenues attributable
      to operating leases pursuant to the Partnership Agreement. Reimbursed
      administrative expenses are equal to the costs expended by CCC and its
      affiliates for services necessary for the prudent operation of the
      Partnership pursuant to the Partnership Agreement. The following
      compensation was paid or will be paid by the Partnership to CCC or its
      affiliates:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                  2000            1999            1998
                                               ----------      ----------      ----------
<S>                                           <C>             <C>             <C>
       Base management fees                    $1,110,439      $1,141,440      $1,344,851
       Reimbursed administrative expenses         838,614         888,227       1,153,980
                                               ----------      ----------      ----------

                                               $1,949,053      $2,029,667      $2,498,831
                                               ==========      ==========      ==========
</TABLE>


(8)   Limited Partners' Capital

      The limited partners' per unit share of capital at December 31, 2000, 1999
      and 1998 was $12, $13, and $15, respectively. This is calculated by
      dividing the limited partners' capital at the end of 2000, 1999 and 1998
      by 7,151,569, the total number of limited partnership units.

                                       27
<PAGE>   28
                       CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.

                          NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


(9)   Legal

      On March 20, 2000, KM Investments, LLC, a California limited liability
      company ("KM") filed a complaint in the Superior Court for the County of
      Los Angeles against CCC, as general partner of the Registrant, alleging
      violation of the California Revised Limited Partnership Act, breach of
      fiduciary duty, and unfair competition. KM is assignee of units of limited
      partnership interests in the Registrant and six other California limited
      partnerships (collectively, the "Cronos Partnerships") managed by CCC, as
      general partner. KM, which is in the business of making unregistered
      tender offers for up to 4.9% of the outstanding limited partnership
      interests in limited partnerships, claimed that CCC had wrongfully refused
      to provide KM with lists of the limited partners of the Cronos
      Partnerships to enable KM to make unregistered tender offers to the
      limited partners of the Cronos Partnerships. KM asked for declaratory
      relief, damages according to proof, attorneys' fees, costs, interest, and
      a temporary restraining order and/or a preliminary injunction barring CCC
      from giving limited partner lists to any other party before delivering
      such lists to KM.

      After the Court heard challenges by CCC to KM's complaint and its first
      amended complaint, which challenges were granted in part and denied in
      part, CCC filed its answer to KM's first amended complaint on October 20,
      2000, denying the allegations thereof, denying that KM was entitled to any
      damages, and asserting various affirmative defenses. Before conducting
      expensive discovery, the parties engaged in settlement discussions, which
      were consummated subsequent to December 31, 2000, when the parties agreed
      to the terms of a settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, CCC will
      provide copies of the limited partner lists of the Cronos Partnerships to
      KM, in return for a payment by KM and KM's covenant to provide copies of
      any mini-tender offer materials to CCC concurrently with their
      transmission by KM to the limited partners of the Cronos Partnerships. KM
      has also agreed to pay for tendered limited partner units within three (3)
      business days of confirmation of the transfer from CCC. The parties have
      agreed to broad reciprocal releases as part of the settlement. The
      settlement entails no payments by CCC or by the Cronos Partnerships to KM.


                            ************************

                                       28
<PAGE>   29

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and
        Financial Disclosure

    Inapplicable.

                                       29
<PAGE>   30

                                    PART III


Item 10. Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

    The Registrant, as such, has no officers or directors, but is managed by
CCC, the general partner. The officers and directors of CCC at February 28,
2001, are as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                           Name                                              Office
             ---------------------------------    -------------------------------------------------------------
             <S>                                  <C>
             Dennis J. Tietz                      President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
             John Kallas                          Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director
             Elinor A. Wexler                     Vice President/Administration, Secretary and Director
             Peter J. Younger                     Director
             John M. Foy                          Director
</TABLE>


    DENNIS J. TIETZ Mr. Tietz, 48, as President and Chief Executive Officer, is
responsible for the general management of CCC. Mr. Tietz was appointed Chief
Executive Officer of The Cronos Group, indirect corporate parent of CCC, in
December 1998 and elected Chairman of the Board in March 1999. Mr. Tietz is also
President and a director of Cronos Securities Corp. From 1986 until August 1992,
Mr. Tietz was responsible for the organization, marketing and after-market
support of CCC's investment programs. Mr. Tietz was a regional manager for CCC,
responsible for various container leasing activities in the U.S. and Europe from
1981 to 1986. Prior to joining CCC in December 1981, Mr. Tietz was employed by
Trans Ocean Leasing Corporation as Regional Manager based in Houston, with
responsibility for all leasing and operational activities in the U.S. Gulf.

    Mr. Tietz holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from San Jose State
University and is a Registered Securities Principal with the NASD.

    JOHN KALLAS Mr. Kallas, 38, was elected Vice President, Chief Financial
Officer of CCC in November, 2000. Mr. Kallas also joined the Board of Directors
of CCC in November, 2000. Mr. Kallas has been employed by CCC since 1989, and is
responsible for managed container investment programs, treasury, and CCC's
financial operations. Mr. Kallas has held various accounting positions since
joining Cronos including Controller, Director of Accounting and Corporate
Accounting Manager. From 1985 to 1989, Mr. Kallas was an accountant with KPMG
Peat Marwick, San Francisco.

    Mr. Kallas holds a Masters degree in Finance and Business Administration
from St. Mary's College, a B.S. degree in Business Administration/Accounting
from the University of San Francisco and is a certified public accountant.

    ELINOR A. WEXLER Ms. Wexler, 52, was elected Vice President - Administration
and Secretary of CCC in August 1992. Ms. Wexler joined the Board of Directors of
CCC in June 1997. Ms. Wexler has been employed by CCC since 1987, and is
responsible for investor services, compliance and securities registration. From
1983 to 1987, Ms. Wexler was Manager of Investor Services for The Robert A.
McNeil Corporation, a real estate syndication company, in San Mateo, California.
From 1971 to 1983, Ms. Wexler held various positions, including securities
trader and international research editor, with Nikko Securities Co.,
International, based in San Francisco.

    Ms. Wexler attended the University of Oregon, Portland State University and
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Ms. Wexler is also Vice President
and Secretary of Cronos Securities Corp. and a Registered Principal with the
NASD.

    PETER J. YOUNGER Mr. Younger, 44, was elected to the Board of Directors of
CCC in June 1997. See key management personnel of the Leasing Company for
further information.

    JOHN M. FOY Mr. Foy, 55, was elected to the Board of Directors of CCC in
April 1999. See key management personnel of the Leasing Company for further
information.

                                       30
<PAGE>   31


    The key management personnel of the Leasing Company and its affiliates at
February 28, 2001, were as follows:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                            Name                                          Title
                ------------------------------    -------------------------------------------------------
                <S>                               <C>
                Peter J. Younger                  Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer
                John M. Foy                       Senior Vice President/Americas
                Nico Sciacovelli                  Senior Vice President/Europe, Middle East and Africa
                John C. Kirby                     Senior Vice President/Operations
</TABLE>


    PETER J. YOUNGER Mr. Younger, 44, was elected to the Board of Directors of
The Cronos Group on January 13, 2000. Mr. Younger will serve as a director until
the 2001 annual meeting and his successor is elected and takes office. Mr.
Younger was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of The Cronos Group on August
4, 2000, and its Chief Financial Officer in March 1997. From 1991 to 1997, Mr.
Younger served as Vice President of Finance for the Leasing Company, located in
the UK. From 1987 to 1991 Mr. Younger served as Vice President and Controller
for CCC in San Francisco. Prior to 1987, Mr. Younger was a certified public
accountant and a principal with the accounting firm of Johnson, Glaze and Co. in
Salem, Oregon. Mr. Younger holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from
Western Baptist College, Salem, Oregon.

    JOHN M. FOY Mr. Foy, 55, is directly responsible for the Leasing Company's
lease marketing and operations in North America, Central America, and South
America, and is based in San Francisco. From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Foy was Vice
President/Pacific with responsibility for dry cargo container lease marketing
and operations in the Pacific Basin. From 1977 to 1985 Mr. Foy was Vice
President of Marketing for Nautilus Leasing Services in San Francisco with
responsibility for worldwide leasing activities. From 1974 to 1977, Mr. Foy was
Regional Manager for Flexi-Van Leasing, a container lessor, with responsibility
for container leasing activities in the Western United States. Mr. Foy holds a
B.A. degree in Political Science from University of the Pacific, and a Bachelor
of Foreign Trade from Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management.

    NICO SCIACOVELLI Mr. Sciacovelli, 51, was elected Senior Vice President -
Europe, Middle East and Africa in June 1997. Mr. Sciacovelli is directly
responsible for the Leasing Company's lease marketing and operations in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa and is based in Italy. Since joining Cronos in 1983,
Mr. Sciacovelli served as Area Director and Area Manager for Southern Europe.
Prior to joining Cronos, Mr. Sciacovelli was a Sales Manager at Interpool Ltd.

    JOHN C. KIRBY Mr. Kirby, 47, is responsible for container purchasing,
contract and billing administration, container repairs and leasing-related
systems, and is based in the United Kingdom. Mr. Kirby joined CCC in 1985 as
European Technical Manager and advanced to Director of European Operations in
1986, a position he held with CCC, and later the Leasing Company, until his
promotion to Senior Vice President/Operations of the Leasing Company in 1992.
From 1982 to 1985, Mr. Kirby was employed by CLOU Containers, a container
leasing company, as Technical Manager based in Hamburg, Germany. Mr. Kirby
acquired a professional engineering qualification from the Mid-Essex Technical
College in England.


SECTION 16(a) BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REPORTING COMPLIANCE

    The Registrant has followed the practice of reporting acquisitions and
dispositions of the Registrant's units of limited partnership interests by CCC,
its general partner. As CCC did not acquire or dispose of any of the
Registrant's units of limited partnership interests during the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2000, no reports of beneficial ownership under Section 16(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, were filed with the SEC.

                                       31
<PAGE>   32

Item 11. Executive Compensation

    The Registrant commenced monthly distributions to its partners (general and
limited) from distributable cash from operations beginning in the second quarter
of 1994. Such distributions are allocated 95% to the limited partners and 5% to
the general partner. Sales proceeds will be allocated 99% to the limited
partners and 1% to the general partner. The allocations will remain in effect
until such time as the limited partners have received from the Registrant
aggregate distributions in an amount equal to their capital contributions plus
an 8% cumulative, compounded (daily), annual return on their adjusted capital
contributions. Thereafter, all Partnership distributions will be allocated 85%
to the limited partners and 15% to the general partner.

    The Registrant will not pay or reimburse CCC or the Leasing Company for any
remuneration payable by them to their executive officers, directors or any other
controlling persons. However, the Registrant will reimburse the general partner
and the Leasing Company for certain services pursuant to the Partnership
Agreement. These services include but are not limited to (i) salaries and
related salary expenses for services which could be performed directly for the
Registrant by independent parties, such as legal, accounting, transfer agent,
data processing, operations, communications, duplicating and other such
services; (ii) performing administrative services necessary to the prudent
operations of the Registrant.

    The following table sets forth the fees the Registrant paid (on a cash
basis) to CCC or the Leasing Company ("CCL") for the year ended December 31,
2000.

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                                          Cash Fees and
                    Name                                       Description                                Distributions
           ------------------------    ------------------------------------------------------------    --------------------

    <S>                                <C>                                                             <C>
    1)                                 Base management fees - equal to 7% of
                                       gross lease revenues attributable to
                                       operating leases pursuant to Section 4.3
                                       of the Limited Partnership Agreement
           CCL                                                                                             $1,055,384


    2)                                 Reimbursed administrative expenses -
                                       equal to the costs expended by CCC and
                                       its affiliates for services necessary to
                                       the prudent operation of the Registrant
                                       pursuant to Section 4.4 of the Limited
                                       Partnership Agreement
           CCC                                                                                             $   67,774

           CCL                                                                                             $  673,223


    3)                                 Interest in Fund - 5% of distributions of distributable
                                       cash for any quarter pursuant to Section 6.1 of the
                                       Limited Partnership Agreement
           CCC                                                                                             $  492,453


    4)                                 Acquisition fee - equal to 5% of the purchase price of
                                       containers acquired by the Registrant pursuant to Section
                                       4.2 of the Limited Partnership Agreement
           CCC                                                                                             $   45,928
</TABLE>

                                       32
<PAGE>   33


Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management -
         (Continued)

    (a)  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners

    There is no person or "group" of persons known to the management of CCC to
be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the outstanding units of
limited partnership interests of the Registrant.

    (b)  Security Ownership of Management

    The Registrant has no directors or officers. It is managed by CCC. CCC owns
five units, representing 0.00007% of the total amount of units outstanding.

    (c)  Changes in Control

    Inapplicable.


Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

    (a)  Transactions with Management and Others

    The Registrant's only transactions with management and other related parties
during 2000 were limited to those fees paid or amounts committed to be paid (on
an annual basis) to CCC, the general partner, and its affiliates. See Item 11,
"Executive Compensation," herein.

    (b)  Certain Business Relationships

    Inapplicable.

    (c)  Indebtedness of Management

    Inapplicable.

    (d)  Transactions with Promoters

    Inapplicable.


                                       33
<PAGE>   34



                                     PART IV

Item 14. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

                                                                                                                    Page
                                                                                                                    ----
<S>     <C>                                                                                                         <C>
    (a) 1.Financial Statements

         Independent Auditors' Report................................................................................17


         Report of Independent Public Accountants....................................................................18



    (a) 2.The following financial statements of the Registrant are included in Part II, Item 8:


         Balance Sheets - as of December 31, 2000 and 1999...........................................................19


         Statements of Operations - for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998.............................20


         Statements of Partners' Capital - for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998......................21


         Statements of Cash Flows - for the years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998.............................22


         Notes to Financial Statements...............................................................................23
</TABLE>



    All schedules are omitted as the information is not required or the
information is included in the financial statements or notes thereto.

                                       34
<PAGE>   35


    (a) 3.Exhibits

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

               Exhibit
                 No.                             Description                               Method of Filing
               --------     --------------------------------------------------------       ----------------
               <S>          <C>                                                            <C>
                 3(a)       Limited Partnership Agreement of the Registrant, amended       *
                            and restated as of December 15, 1993

                 3(b)       Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Registrant           **

                 10         Form of Leasing Agent Agreement with Cronos Containers         ***
                            Limited
</TABLE>


    (b)  Reports on Form 8-K

         No reports on Form 8-K were filed by the Registrant during the quarter
ended December 31, 2000.



------------

*   Incorporated by reference to Exhibit "A" to the Prospectus of the Registrant
    dated December 17, 1993, included as part of Registration Statement on Form
    S-1 (No. 33-69356)

**  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Registration Statement on
    Form S-1 (No. 33-69356)

*** Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement on
    Form S-1 (No. 33-69356)

                                       35
<PAGE>   36



                                   SIGNATURES



         Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.




                   CRONOS GLOBAL INCOME FUND XV, L.P.


                   By  Cronos Capital Corp.
                       The General Partner




                   By   /s/Dennis J. Tietz
                       -------------------------------------------------------
                       Dennis J. Tietz
                       President and Director of Cronos Capital Corp. ("CCC")
                       Principal Executive Officer of CCC




Date:  March 26, 2001


    Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this
report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of Cronos
Capital Corp., the managing general partner of the Registrant, in the capacities
and on the dates indicated:

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

              Signature                                    Title                                   Date
<S>                                           <C>                                             <C>
  /s/Dennis J. Tietz                             President and Director of
-------------------------------                    Cronos Capital Corp.
Dennis J. Tietz                                ("CCC") (Principal Executive                   March 26, 2001
                                                      Officer of CCC)


  /s/John Kallas                                Chief Financial Officer and
-------------------------------                         Director of
John Kallas                                    Cronos Capital Corp. ("CCC")                   March 26, 2001
                                                 (Principal Financial and
                                                Accounting Officer of CCC)


  /s/Elinor A. Wexler                         Vice President-Administration,
-------------------------------                  Secretary and Director of
Elinor A. Wexler                                   Cronos Capital Corp.                       March 26, 2001

</TABLE>


                            SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

    The Registrant's annual report will be furnished to its limited partners on
or about April 30, 2001. Copies of the annual report will be concurrently
furnished to the Commission for information purposes only, and shall not be
deemed to be filed with the Commission.


<PAGE>   37

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>

              Exhibit
                 No.                             Description                               Method of Filing
              -------       --------------------------------------------------------       ----------------
              <S>           <C>                                                            <C>
                 3(a)       Limited Partnership Agreement of the Registrant, amended       *
                            and restated as of December 15, 1993

                 3(b)       Certificate of Limited Partnership of the Registrant           **

                 10         Form of Leasing Agent Agreement with Cronos Containers         ***
                            Limited
</TABLE>

-----------

*   Incorporated by reference to Exhibit "A" to the Prospectus of the Registrant
    dated December 17, 1993, included as part of Registration Statement on Form
    S-1 (No. 33-69356)

**  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Registration Statement on
    Form S-1 (No. 33-69356)

*** Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registration Statement on
    Form S-1 (No. 33-69356)