FRANCE/FILE: Mercedes-Benz confident a France sales ban will be lifted as hearing on cooling delayed until Tuesday

Record ID: 863576

  • Title: FRANCE/FILE: Mercedes-Benz confident a France sales ban will be lifted as hearing on cooling delayed until Tuesday
  • Date: 23rd August 2013
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (AUGUST 23, 2013) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FRENCH STATE COUNCIL BUILDING TEAM REPRESENTING FRENCH STATE AT TRIBUNAL ARRIVING AT STATE COUNCIL BUILDING SIGN READING (French) "STATE COUNCIL" VARIOUS OF TEAM REPRESENTING FRENCH STATE WALKING TO TRIBUNAL WINDOW FRENCH FLAG DAIMLER TEAM INCLUDING DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES FOR MERCEDES FRANCE HARRY SALAMON WALKING DOWN STAIRS AFTER TRIBUNAL (SOUNDBITE) (French) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES FOR MERCEDES FRANCE HARRY SALAMON SAYING: "It was a session rich in information, with the judge listening closely, a contradictory debate which was very intense. I think that the position of Mercedes-Benz is clear." SALAMON BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (German) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES FOR MERCEDES FRANCE HARRY SALAMON SAYING: "The measure will be immediately cancelled and we can continue to sell our vehicles with a gas which is safe, and our goal is to bring satisfaction to our customers." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (German) DIRECTOR GENERAL OF SERVICES FOR MERCEDES FRANCE HARRY SALAMON SAYING: "We're in the framework of safety, we're in the framework of the environment, we're in the framework of the KBA (German Federal Motor Transport Authority) decision and we are suffering from a registration blockage and it will definitely be lifted on Tuesday."
  • Embargoed: 7th September 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • City:
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Legal System,Business,Industry,Politics,Transport
  • Reuters ID: LVADAH6ISHMJ0YCE9DHGL5XJIG9Q
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: France's top administrative court said on Friday (August 23) it would delay until Tuesday a decision on Daimler's request for an injunction lifting a ban on the sale of certain Mercedes Benz cars in France.
    France has halted sales of Mercedes cars assembled since June 12 because of Daimler's refusal to stop using the air-conditioning coolant R134a, banned from new vehicles since the start of the year. The blocked models account for most of the brand's French business and 2 percent of global deliveries.
    Daimler has argued that the new refrigerant, known as R1234yf, poses a potential fire hazard.
    "I think that the position of Mercedes-Benz is clear," the director general of services for Mercedes France, Harry Salamon, said on exiting the tribunal.
    Salamon said he was confident that the court will lift the ban.
    "The measure will be immediately cancelled and we can continue to sell our vehicles with a gas which is safe," he told journalists.
    France has argued that the ban is legally permissible under an EU law that protects the environment and public health.
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