A new air conditioning refrigerant used in cars poses no material risk to occupants even if it is more dangerous than an older alternative now being phased out to meet environmental rules, German officials said in a closely watched report.
The report by Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) comes after France banned the sale of most of Daimler's new model Mercedes cars using the older refrigerant, saying it did not meet new European environmental standards.
Ever since Daimler warned last year that the new chemical known as HFO-1234yf poses a greater fire hazard than previously believed, a dispute has raged in the auto industry over a component that few car owners regularly think about -- the refrigerant in their air conditioners.
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