Photo: Daimler AG
In case you didn't live under a huge boulder during the last year or so, you probably know about the rather melodramatic war between the French government and Daimler AG concerning the use of a type of air conditioning refrigerant in certain Mercedes-Benz models.
Most of you probably also know that back in August 2013 the situation escalated so high that Mercedes-Benz was actually banned by the French government to sell the A-Class (W176), B-Class (W246), CLA (C117) and the SL Roadster (R231) in the Hexagon..
The sales ban was reversed a couple of months later with a temporary injunction that allowed the German manufacturer to continue selling the aforementioned models, despite the fact that they were using an air conditioning coolant that is currently being phased out by the European Union.
As it turns out, the biggest administrative court in France has finally overturned the government's decision to ban the sale of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, B-Class, CLA and the SL Roadster, even though the models are still using the famed R134a refrigerant.
The French State Council considers that the sales ban imposed by the Minister of Ecology was unjustified and that the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz models have not shown to present a serious threat to the environment.
In case you weren't aware, Mercedes-Benz decided not to switch to the new EU-imposed AC coolant, made by Honeywell and DuPont, after finding unacceptable safety risks with the agent during certain crashes.
Along with other German car manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz has decided that it will instead switch to a much safer CO2-based air-conditioning coolant by 2017.
The sales ban was reversed a couple of months later with a temporary injunction that allowed the German manufacturer to continue selling the aforementioned models, despite the fact that they were using an air conditioning coolant that is currently being phased out by the European Union.
As it turns out, the biggest administrative court in France has finally overturned the government's decision to ban the sale of the Mercedes-Benz A-Class, B-Class, CLA and the SL Roadster, even though the models are still using the famed R134a refrigerant.
The French State Council considers that the sales ban imposed by the Minister of Ecology was unjustified and that the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz models have not shown to present a serious threat to the environment.
In case you weren't aware, Mercedes-Benz decided not to switch to the new EU-imposed AC coolant, made by Honeywell and DuPont, after finding unacceptable safety risks with the agent during certain crashes.
Along with other German car manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz has decided that it will instead switch to a much safer CO2-based air-conditioning coolant by 2017.
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