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French Court Overturns Ban on Mercedes-Benz Sales
France's Conseil d'Etat has rejected the government's ban last year on the sale of Mercedes-Benz cars equipped with an air-conditioning refrigerant outlawed by the EU.
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France's Conseil d'Etat has rejected the government's ban last year on the sale of Mercedes-Benz cars equipped with an air-conditioning refrigerant outlawed by the EU.
The ruling finalizes the temporary injunction the court issued last August. The earlier ruling blocked the government's two-month-old quarantine on Mercedes A-, B- and CLA-Class sedans and SL sport coupes.
France issued the ban after Daimler refused to stop using R124a refrigerant and switch to a far "greener" material as required by the EU. The government said it was merely carrying out the EU's directive to require all manufacturers to switch to a new refrigerant by Jan. 1, 2013.
But Daimler questioned the safety of the only immediate alternative, R1234yf, and said it would develop a carbon dioxide-based air-conditioning system by 2017. The Conseil d'Etat ruled that the banned Mercedes vehicles had not been proven a significant threat to the environment.
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