Tag: resume

Report: Daimler to resume French sales per court ruling

Filed under: Europe, Government/Legal, Safety, Mercedes-Benz, Luxury

Mercedes-Benz badge

France’s highest administrative court said yesterday that authorities must resume registering Daimler vehicles, which were formally banned in late July, Automotive News reports, even though they are still equipped with R134a air-conditioning refrigerant.

The refrigerant is illegal in the European Union and is the reason for this legal battle, which has restricted the registration of Mercedes-Benz A-, B-, CLA- and SL-Class vehicles in France. But it turns out that the French government’s use of an EU “safeguard” provision to ban registration of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles, which allows countries to block sales of vehicles that would “seriously harm the environment,” wasn’t justified. Why? Because the use of R134a doesn’t appear to be an immediate danger to the environment, the Paris-based court said.

The new chemical, R1234yf, was made the EU’s standard for a/c systems because it emits fewer greenhouse gases into the environment. Daimler says it continues to use R134a because it found R1234yf to be flammable in testing. The German automaker also argues that approval of the use of R134a by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) should be good enough permission for it to sell cars in Europe.

The current state of the situation prompted Daimler to say it expects French authorities to start registering its vehicles tomorrow.

Daimler to resume French sales per court ruling originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Aug 2013 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Daimler to resume French sales per court ruling”

Saab to resume production after securing short-term loan

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Saab, Earnings/Financials

Saab factory

Production at Saab’s Trollhättan, Sweden plant has been shut down for weeks due, as these things often are, to a lack of cash needed to pay suppliers. That should change in the next week, though, as Saab parent Spyker has announced that it has secured a convertible loan agreement with Gemini Investment Fund Limited worth 30 million euros.

The Swedish automaker says the loan will help reboot the plant, but Saab is also counting on a 29.1-million-euro draw-down from the request to the European Investment Bank, which will reportedly arrive next week. With both loans, Saab says in the post-jump press release that it will be able to resume production at Trollhättan, pending a delivery schedule agreement with suppliers.

The loan, which matures in six months and carries a seven-percent interest rate, will act only as a stopgap measure to enable a production restart. Saab is reportedly also trying to strike a deal with a Chinese automaker to help stabilize its operations and provide much-needed funding. Saab is said to be continuing to work out a deal with Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, who hopes to own 30 percent of the automaker. Hit the jump to read over the press release.

Continue reading Saab to resume production after securing short-term loan

Saab to resume production after securing short-term loan originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 May 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Saab to resume production after securing short-term loan”

Report: Toyota to resume production at half-speed across Japan on April 18

Filed under: Japan, Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota

Toyota Prius production line in Japan

With the exception of the facility that makes the Prius, Toyota plants in Japan have been closed following the earthquake disaster in Japan, but that is scheduled to change by April 18. The Associated Press is reporting that Toyota will resume production that day, though assembly lines will only work at half speed. The plants will run through April 27, when they will close again until May 9 to honor Japan’s Golden Week holiday. That’s a fairly short production window, but the move is likely welcome news to Toyota’s rank and file. The automaker has already lost 260,000 units since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota’s plan to restart production comes as the automaker continues to struggle to procure parts needed for production. Toyota’s parts situation has improved, however, as the AP reports that problem part counts have gone from 500 to under 150.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda acknowledges that parts supply issues are still hurting the automaker, but adds “we are doing our utmost to improve the conditions so that we can deliver cars to many customers.”

[Source: Associated Press via Daily Tribune | Image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty]

Report: Toyota to resume production at half-speed across Japan on April 18 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Continue reading “Report: Toyota to resume production at half-speed across Japan on April 18”