Pope Francis will be riding in a new, all-electric popemobile after receiving a modified G-Class vehicle from Mercedes-Benz, the company announced Wednesday.
It’s the first electric popemobile from the luxury German automaker, which has been manufacturing vehicles for the Vatican for the last 90 years. For half that time, the popemobile has been based on Mercedes’ G-Class wagon. And now, for the first time, it wil be operating without any pollution, powered by the company’s EV technology.
“With the new Popemobile, Pope Francis is the first pope to be traveling in a fully electric Mercedes-Benz when making public appearances,” CEO Ola Kallenius, who personally delivered the vehicle to Pope Francis this week. “This is a special honor for our company, and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust. With this Popemobile, we are also sending out a clear call for electromobility and decarbonisation.”
The vehicle was modified to utilize four individual motors at each wheel for low-speed travel as the Pope greets visitors in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, for example. In the rear, the bench seat was replaced by an elevated, swiveling single seat, so the pope can face his followers from all sides. Two other seats were included behind the pope’s spot for additional passengers.
This is the first all-electric popemobile, but it isn’t Pope Francis’ first experience with zero-emission transportation. The Vatican was gifted a Renault Kangoo electric van in 2012, but it wasn’t used for official transport. Pope Francis was driven around in a hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai in Japan in 2019. And Mercedes-Benz has even made hybrid popemobiles for his holiness.
The possibility of an electric popemobile has been floating around for years. The now-defunct EV startup Fisker even proposed building one after founder Henrik Fisker met briefly with Pope Francis in 2021. The company declared bankruptcy earlier this year.