In repair workshops, demand remains strong for a refrigerant gas that Brussels no longer wants, in the name of environmental protection. As a result, its price has doubled. Recharging your air conditioning may cost more.
The 50% to 60% increase in the price of refrigerant gas should have an inevitable impact on the price of air conditioner maintenance packages. The National Council of Automobile Professions warns consumer associations.
The demand for R134a is higher than the supply
The law of supply and demand teaches us that what is rare is expensive. There is nothing very new here. Simply, the motorist did not necessarily expect to be reminded of this reality by the mechanic who recharges his air conditioning.
Year after year, inflation in the price of refrigerant gases (the one that your car's air conditioning compresses) is breaking records, which has a direct impact on the price of maintenance services billed to the end consumer. Yves Levaillant, President of the Bodywork branch of the National Council for Automobile Professions (CNPA) sounded the alarm:
" We would like to draw the attention of consumers and manufacturers to the impact that a 50% to 60% increase in the price of refrigerant gas on the prices of services billed to motorists. Repair professionals will have to pass this increase on to their prices. "
Refrigerant production is falling faster than demand
The phenomenon of rising refrigerant gas prices is nothing new. Already in 2015, professionals in the sector warned against this inevitable consequence of the F-gas regulations. This European directive programs a gradual withdrawal from the market of refrigerant gases with high global warming potential, expressed in a PRP index (or GWP, for Global Warming Potential ). From 100% in 2015, the quantity of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants with a high GWP index must increase to 63% between 2018 and 2020, before reaching 21% in 2030.
Logically and in accordance with the quotas set by the F-gas regulations, manufacturers have started to reduce the level of production, in favor of gas with a low GWP index. Unfortunately for the automotive sector, R134a gas can only be replaced by HFO-1234yf refrigerant which is compatible with very few vehicles on the road. " The conversion of air conditioning systems to the new gas is not possible ", confirms Y. Levaillant.
“A vehicle originally equipped to run on R134a refrigerant will run on this gas until it is scrapped at the end of its life.” There are also other opinions that we found on the internet.
The replacement refrigerant is slow to impose itself. This is how the demand for R134a refrigerant gas is maintained at a level that now exceeds its production level, down 40% compared to last year. The law of supply and demand playing full, prices rise quickly. Especially since there is the temptation, among some distributors, to store the gases that will soon be banned, just to be able to ensure the maintenance of the devices.
Manufacturers were all the more reluctant to adopt R1234yf as this gas was for a time accused of suffering from a significantly lower flammability temperature than R134a, to the point of seriously increasing the risk of fire in the event of an accident. This lively debate sparked a mini trade war between Paris and Berlin in 2014 , when the French administration blocked the import of Mercedes-Benz Class A cars deemed non-compliant , because of their attachment to R134a gas.