Daimler to Sue France Over Sales Ban

Daimler AG says it will file a lawsuit challenging the French government's decision to bar the sale of some Mercedes-Benz cars that use a prohibited air-conditioning refrigerant.

The dispute centers on an EU rule that all new vehicles sold in Europe after Jan. 1 must use "green" refrigerant 1234yf. Daimler declared last autumn that its tests showed the fluid could ignite in a crash and create poisonous fumes.

Daimler says France's refusal since June 19 to register Mercedes CLA, SL and A- and B-Class models has prevented the delivery of more than 4,500 vehicles there.

A French court ruled last Thursday that the ban should be lifted because the country's government had not followed proper EU procedures. But the judge gave federal officials 10 days to review the case before they would be required to let Mercedes resume sales.

The country's ecology and transport ministries vowed on Friday to immediately implement the correct procedures, thus keeping the embargo in place indefinitely.

Because a raft of other tests found the new refrigerant to be safe, the EU denied Daimler's request to delay implementing the rule. But the company continues to fill its new vehicles with the former standard refrigerant, R134a, which has a much higher global warming potential.