France’s highest court has formally overturned the ban by the country’s ecology ministry on Mercedes-Benz A, B, CLA and SL models in the simmering row surrounding different refrigerant use.
The issue, which saw Mercedes temporarily unable to sell the vehicles in France last year, dragged in actors as diverse as the European Commission, chemical producers, OEMs, governments and dealers, with no sign of the heat being taken out of the debate.
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Mercedes is insistent it should be able to use its r134a coolant in the models as it believes there is a potential fire hazard in certain conditions using the Honeywell and Dupont-mandated r1234yf alternative, a position both chemical producers vehemently dispute.
Last September, the Council of State temporarily lifted the ban on the Mercedes models, allowing around 5,000 cars to be delivered.
“The Council of State has, at the request of Mercedes-Benz France, cancelled the decision of 26 July, 2013 [by France’s ecology ministry, including transport] to refuse registration of Daimler-produced vehicles for a maximum period of six months,” said a statement from the Conseil d’Etat.
“The Council of State estimates none of the reasons put forward by the ministry to justify its decision…were among those catered for by the traffic [act] to justify a safeguard measure.
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By GlobalData“The minister did not demonstrate use of the vehicles in question, which represent a very small part of the French automobile parc, would lead to a serious impact on the environment.”
The EC’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) scientific body, recently published a report backing the use of the r1234yf refrigerant while Brussels also launched the first steps in an infringement procedure against Germany for its supposed non-compliance with the Mobile Air Conditioning (MAC) Directive.
However, Honeywell, despite acknowledging the court’s ruling, is continuing to insist on “speedy enforcement” of the European Union MAC directive.
“The safe use of HFO-1234yf has been proven repeatedly through comprehensive tests and evaluations conducted by third-party experts, including most recently by the JRC, which provides independent scientific and technical advice to the EC to broadly support policy-setting activities,” said a Honeywell statement.
“If enforced broadly and effectively, the MAC directive can achieve the equivalent of removing 8m tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, or removing 4m cars from European roads.
“An estimated 1m cars are already using HFO-1234yf safely, and the number is expected to double by the end of this year.”
Earlier this year, Mercedes announced its own series of CO2 coolant tests in deliberately inhospitable areas of the planet that include northern Sweden and Death Valley.
The automaker is testing its CO2 variant on a fleet of models with an eye on 2016 for entry into service the following year.
