About 1,600 jobs are in jeopardy if the French gov maintains the ban on Mercedes A,B and CLA class models due to the Freon used in the A/C units. The Freon is banned across the EU but France is the only one who has sanctioned the vehicles.
The ban is threatening dealerships, Jean-Claude Bernard, president of the group of Mercedes distributers and repairers said the ban has 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. We are seriously concerned that this situation will lead to the bankruptcy of some members of the network, who are already struggling.”
Mercedes is complaining that its dealer network is being forced to pay the ultimate price for a national dispute between France and Germany (what else is new?). Last week it appeared that the ban may be overturned when a Versailles court suspended the sanctions 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.
The last part is what this is really about, French car makers are on life support borrowing money from an already tapped out French Government and lumbering around with a bloated workforce that they cant legally reduce. So France is trying to protect its national interests in Peugeot and Renault.
The ban is threatening dealerships, Jean-Claude Bernard, president of the group of Mercedes distributers and repairers said the ban has 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. We are seriously concerned that this situation will lead to the bankruptcy of some members of the network, who are already struggling.”
Mercedes is complaining that its dealer network is being forced to pay the ultimate price for a national dispute between France and Germany (what else is new?). Last week it appeared that the ban may be overturned when a Versailles court suspended the sanctions 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.
The last part is what this is really about, French car makers are on life support borrowing money from an already tapped out French Government and lumbering around with a bloated workforce that they cant legally reduce. So France is trying to protect its national interests in Peugeot and Renault.
