Briefs: MAC news

Following a request of the European Automobile Manufacturer's Association for a 2-year delay, European Industry Commissioner G. Verheugen has confirmed that from January 1, 2011, no new EU type approvals for passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles can be granted if the installed mobile air-conditioning (MAC) unit is built to contain refrigerants with a GWP value over 150. As a result, R-134a can clearly no longer be used in such vehicles after that date. Regarding the 2 main alternative refrigerants competing to replace R-134a - CO2 and HFO-1234yf - new information is available. In August 2009, the Japan government decided that HFO-1234yf can be imported into Japan without volume or use restrictions and that no special controls or monitoring are required. Moreover, the President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) which has until now backed CO2 as the natural alternative declared "We need agreement on a worldwide standard to maintain the competitiveness of the European industry. Separate individual solutions are not an option".