Mercedes dealers in France say they have started registration of the 5,000 A, B, CLA and SL models formerly refused certification following the country’s highest Court’s decision to temporarily overturn a ban by the Transport Ministry.
The news will come as a huge relief not only to Mercedes in Germany but also to thousands of the automaker’s retail staff, some 1,500 of whom were staring at the possibility of partial redundancy as the blockade concerning France’s objection to the manufacturer’s use of the r134a refrigerant, became ever tighter.
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France’s Conseil d’Etat or Council of State temporarily repealed the certification ban following an appeal by Mercedes, which insists the r1234yf alternative refrigerant can be highly flammable in certain circumstances.
“We have started to register the new cars from today,” Groupement des Distributeurs et Reparateurs president, Jean-Claude Bernard, representing 11,000 staff, told just-auto from France. “There are 5,000 cars nationwide.
“There [have been] very few cancellations, not much at all. The [Conseil d’Etat] decision has not surprised us at all – the French State can not do otherwise.”
Mercedes-Benz pronounced itself pleased with the Court’s decision, but the struggle could yet well reoccur as the Conseil d’Etat is due to return with a further judgement, although it is unclear how long this could take.
“The balance between all automotive manufacturers in Europe has been restored,” said Mercedes.
“EU law clearly provides for the case that, under certain conditions, vehicles may be equipped with the safe refrigerant R134a until the end of 2016.
“This is why well over 95% of all vehicles have been registered with it. All Mercedes-Benz products also have the corresponding type approval that is valid throughout Europe.”
Germany’s Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) or road safety authority has published a preliminary report into its testing of r1234yf, with both Mercedes and the European Commission [EC] taking positives from the document, while Brussels has also involved its Joint Research Centre (JRC) to assist.
“On the basis of these preliminary findings, the Commission still considers there is no evidence there is a general safety risk related to the flammability of the refrigerant HFO 1234yf, or there would be no technical solutions available to mitigate the flammability risks associated with the use of the HFO 1234yf gas in MAC [mobile air conditioning] systems,” an EC official previously told just-auto.
The issue has soared up the political chain with the German government backing Mercedes’ use of r134a, while France is supporting the r1234yf refrigerant.
