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Court orders France to end ban on Mercedes

France's highest administrative court ordered the French government on Tuesday to lift its controversial ban on new Mercedes models. The ban, which revolved around the use of a certain coolant, has flared into an international row.

Published: 27 August 2013 15:27 CEST
Court orders France to end ban on Mercedes
france has been ordered to lift ban on certain Mercedes models. Photo: John Karakatsanis/flickr

France's Conseil d'Etat responded to a complaint by manufacturers Daimler on Tuesday by ordering the French government to give the green light for the registration of certain models of Mercedes, which Paris had banned because of the use of a certain liquid coolant.

Since the middle of June Paris blocked the sale of the A, B and CLA class Mercedes due to the fact the vehicles were equipped with an old liquid coolant for the air-conditioning that no longer adheres to EU regulations.

The coolant is forbidden by EU rules in vehicles that were approved for sale since the start of 2011, however up until now France is the only member of the EU to impose a ban on the sales of certain models.

Since January 1st, European Union norms demand that car makers use a cleaner R1234yf refrigerant, deemed less polluting than older products.

But Daimler is sticking to R134a, an older coolant, as it claims studies have shown that the new gas catches fire more easily and puts cars at a greater risk of explosion in case of a crash.

The makers of R1234yf reject Daimler's claims but in Germany, the auto giant was given special permission to keep using the older gas.

Daimler says it will persist with the older product with the hope that "in the next few years" a safer version will be available. 

The ban threatened the future of dealerships in the country, Mercedes had claimed.

In an open letter published earlier this month by Jean-Claude Bernard, president of the group of Mercedes distributers and repairers said the ban hit 50 percent of Mercedes sales in France.

“Almost 5,000 cars sold cannot be delivered to our clients and registered. This means 1,600 jobs, out of a total of 11,000 in the distribution network in France, are threatened if the situation continues,” Bernard warned.

France’s environment ministry had insisted it must adhere to European regulations but earlier this month it appeared that the ban may be overturned when a court in Versailles suspended the block at the request of Mercedes Benz France.

The court gave French authorities 10 days to reconsider their position, but the following day Paris used an EU rule which allows it to protect its interests by temporarily restricting certain imports to maintain the ban.

Daimler has already threatened to take France to court seeking compensation once the ban is overturned

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MERCEDES

Germany: Further Mercedes recalls likely as ‘Dieselgate’ scandal continues

German authorities will "likely" discover software rigging the level of diesel emissions in Mercedes-Benz cars other than those already sanctioned, the Daimler group warned on Friday.

Published: 22 February 2020 09:21 CET
Germany: Further Mercedes recalls likely as 'Dieselgate' scandal continues
Photo: DPA

Daimler stands accused of hiding the fact that it was using illegal software in diesel cars to cheat emissions tests.

“It is likely that in the course of the ongoing and/or further investigations KBA (Federal Motor Transport Authority) will issue additional administrative orders holding that other Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles are also equipped with impermissible defeat devices,” the manufacturer wrote in its annual report.

KBA has already ordered the recall of nearly a million Mercedes cars.

The manufacturer disputes the illegality of the “engine management functions” under the spotlight but at the end of September agreed to pay a fine of 870 million euros ($944 million) for selling non-compliant vehicles.

Faced with the threat of new recalls, the manufacturer has suspended the sale of certain models “as a precaution”.

Total charges of 5.5 billion euros from dieselgate, which began with Volkswagen in 2015, and a mass recall of vehicles fitted with faulty airbags from supplier Takata contributed to net earnings slumping by 64 percent to 2.7 billion euros ($2.9 billion) last year.

According to its annual report, the group more than doubled its provisions for “governmental and legal proceedings and measures” with 4.9 billion euros ($5.32 billion) entered on the balance sheet for 2019 against 2.1 billion at the end of 2018.

It also increased its provision for possible related costs at 8.7 billion euros, as opposed to 7 billion at the end of 2018.

“The increase relates to ongoing governmental and legal proceedings and measures taken with regard to Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles in several regions and markets, as well as an updated risk assessment for an extended recall of Takata airbags,” wrote Daimler.

Like the entire sector, Daimler is engaged in a race to reduce the level of CO2 emissions from its cars and comply with strict standards in force this year in the EU, under penalty of heavy sanctions.

“The ambitious statutory requirements will be difficult to fulfil in some countries,” it admitted.

Daimler chairman Ola Kallenius has, on several occasions, said that the new standards were a great challenge for the manufacturer. While he is hopeful of meeting standards “in the next few years”, that is “not guaranteed” for 2020 and 2021, he said last week.

Daimler also said that the coronavirus epidemic, centred on China, may have a negative effect on sales and lead to “major disruptions in production, purchasing markets and the supply chain”.

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