Pierre Yves Rossignol
by Pierre Yves Rossignol
You can find everywhere in the media articles about the current boom of electric vehicle sales. Figures for the 2021 automobile market show a definite craze for electric cars, and manufacturers' intentions are ambitious. The increase in sales and market share is clear: 1.9% in France in 2019, rising to 6.7% in 2020 and 9.77% in 2021. The trend is the same across Europe, with the market share of electric models rising from 6.7% to 11.2% between 2020 and 2021. Obviously, this is also reflected in sales volumes, which in France have increased from 42,763 units in 2019, to 110,911 in 2020, and 162,106 in 2021.
However, this technological “great replacement” is not without its failures. After two spectacular fires in Paris, the electric Bolloré buses were warehoused by the public transport office, RATP. Multiple incidents were reported all over Europe and major recall campaigns for defective products have been launched (“Plug-in hybrids: Volkswagen Group recalls 118,000 cars.” Autoplus – www.autoplus.fr. 04 April, 2022). This has also been happening in the United States, although it must be noted that the dangers presented by electric vehicles are still poorly known by the public.
What are the legal recourses for consumers and professionals? Is the fact that the defect often originates from the battery – an independent part, incorporated in the vehicle – an obstacle to compensation?
Hopefully, for consumers, there is little risk of going without compensation. Article 8 of the European Directive on defective products provides that “the producer's liability towards the victim shall not be reduced by the act of a third party who contributed to the damage”. The courts have derived from this a rule specific to incorporated defective products.
It is up to the producer of the product to compensate victims, and to turn for recourse to the manufacturer of the incorporated component that caused the defect. Article 1245-7 of the Civil Code provides that in the event of damage caused by the defect of one product incorporated into another, the producer of the component part and the producer who made the incorporation are jointly and severally liable to the victim.
In most cases, the system of repair of defective products will therefore allow easy and complete compensation of the victims who, let us remember that in the spirit of the drafters of the directive, are consumers.
The manufacturer, a professional, must initiate warranty claims against the manufacturer of the incorporated product. In the industry, there are many cases in which a manufacturer must take action against the supplier of a defective part incorporated in the main product.
This may involve the implementation of a judicial expertise in which the distinction between the vehicle and the defective incorporated product – the battery – will be highlighted. Of course this involves technical discussions and it is strongly recommended that manufacturers be legally advised by their private technical expert. Technical matters touch on new areas and some questions still remain unanswered.
The legal rules relating to these inter-professional remedies are also rather complex. Unfortunately, consumers may then have to endure the slowness and complexity of these procedures before being compensated.
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Herald (previously Granrut) is a well-established, independent law firm created in 1957. Herald’s lawyers always try to bring fresh ideas, innovation, and best practice in its core practice areas. Two partners have been elected Bâtonnier of the Paris Bar.
Admitted to the Paris Bar in 1990, Pierre-Yves Rossignol has been a Partner of Herald since 1997 and specialises in litigation and arbitration disputes in the field of business law, insurance, and defective products. He monitors litigation proceedings in the area of defective product liability on behalf of corporations and insurance companies. Contact Pierre-Yves.