- Shortly before his 88th birthday, the head of 1.4 billion Catholics is treating himself to a new set of wheels: a custom-made vehicle from Mercedes-Benz.
- Pope Francis’ Popemobile usually takes him across St Peter’s Square once a week to allow the faithful to catch a glimpse of him.
Shortly before his 88th birthday, the head of 1.4 billion Catholics is treating himself to a new set of wheels: a custom-made vehicle from Mercedes-Benz that for the first time is emission free.
Popes have been driven around in special cars for almost 100 years, but Pope Francis is now one of the first heads of state to make such a demonstrative break with the combustion engine.
What’s more, the Vatican is set to become the first country in the world to have only electric cars by 2030. The Pope keeps emphasising the importance of the environment and warning about climate change.
Although the German motor industry is struggling to sell electric cars, Volkswagen’s business with the Vatican has thrived in recent years, with the Vatican buying 40 carbon-neutral vehicles this year.
Pope Francis’ Popemobile usually takes him across St Peter’s Square once a week to allow the faithful to catch a glimpse of him. But Popemobiles are also used when a pontiff goes on trips abroad.
The term was popularised by the Polish Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005 and who refused to be deterred from such trips even by an assassination attempt.
The new and fully electric Popemobile is a development of Mercedes’ electric G580 G-Class off-roader. With its specially designed transmission, it can also travel longer distances at walking speed.
The pope sits at the back of the loading area on a raised chair that can be swivelled, enabling him to turn in any direction and wave. There’s also a roof in case of bad weather.
The base colour is a papal pearl white, the floor a cardinal red. In addition, a supported entry has been developed for the ageing Pope Francis, who now uses a wheelchair for almost all of his appointments due to problems with his knees and hips.
Both sides are keeping quiet about the costs. But it can’t have been cheap: the basic model of the electric SUV starts at around US$150,000.