BRUSSELS/BERLIN: The European Commission has warned Germany it faces possible action over Daimler’s refusal to remove a banned refrigerant from new cars, after France moved to block most Mercedes sales within its borders.
France has halted registrations of non-compliant Mercedes models, the EU executive also confirmed yesterday, the latest sign of tension between Germany and its European partners over the direction of auto industry policy and regulation.
Officials are probing the German luxury carmaker’s refusal, backed by Berlin, to follow an EU directive banning the air-conditioning coolant R134a, Commission spokesman Carlo Corazza said. If the breach is confirmed, Brussels “may take necessary action including where appropriate infringement procedures” against Germany, Corazza said in a written statement.
Officials at several French government ministries declined to comment. French Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg, when asked on Monday about the sales freeze, said: “I have not been informed about this”.
Daimler has said French authorities are blocking new registrations of its Mercedes SL sports car and A- and B-Class subcompacts, which together represent more than half of Mercedes sales in the country.
France’s effective sales ban on vehicles assembled since June 12 is just beginning to hurt deliveries, according to a company spokesman, who said he was unaware of any restrictions in other EU states.
The carmaker insists its refusal to phase out R134a, a global warming agent more than 1,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is justified by safety concerns. The only available replacement, Honeywell’s R1234yf, can emit toxic hydrogen fluoride gas when it burns.
Based on 2012 deliveries, Daimler said the French registrations freeze could affect about 2 percent of its global sales, or 29,000 cars. The refrigerant dispute follows a bitter row over the next wave of EU vehicle emission rules, in which German Chancellor Angela Merkel lobbied in vain for larger CO2 loopholes, then intervened to prevent a vote.
Reuters
