Pope Francis has officially gone electric, with Mercedez-Benz delivering the first-ever battery-powered popemobile to the Vatican – a reworked version of the G-Class SUV, bathed in white with special tweaks for lots of handwaving to the crowd. Check it out.
For the first all-electric popemobile, the German automaker reworked its G-Class SUV, with changes including using four electric motors at each wheel to carefully control the vehicle at the low speeds the pope travels when making public appearances. There is also a dedicated open-air seating area with a comfy, all-white height-adjustable 360-degree swivel seat so the pope can sit higher while waving to the crowds. A removable top protects the pope from the elements, but interesting in this popemobile, we don’t see any glass-encased side panels. Of course, in keeping with tradition, the electric G-Class SUV has a pearly white exterior and interior.
“This is a special honor for our company, and I would like to thank His Holiness for his trust,” Mercedez-Benz group CEO Ola Källenius said in a statement. “With this Popemobile, we are also sending out a clear call for electromobility and decarbonization. Mercedes-Benz not only stands for the special and individual — but also for consistently creating the conditions for a net-carbon-neutral new car fleet in 2039.”
Mercedes-Benz has a long history of building popemobiles for the Vatican, with the automaker having built around one-third of all such pope-carrying vessels over the past 100 years. Mercedes said it has been building the electric-powered version for around a year. This version, dubbed the G 580, also comes with a 116-kWh battery, with a 10-80% charge time of just 32 minutes – which should give plenty of ride time at slow speeds, and relatively quick recharges won’t keep the pope waiting too long.
Mercedes isn’t the first company that has aimed to electrify the pope’s ride. The now-defunct EV startup Fisker had made potentially dubious claims that it was working on an emission-free Vatican version of its Ocean SUV for the pope, but the company went bankrupt earlier this year.
The Vatican also announced that it would be gradually transitioning its existing cars with electric ones for an all-EV fleet by 2030. Last month, VW stated it will be the chosen partner to advance the plan, with the automaker delivering just under 40 fully electric vehicles starting next year, including the ID.3, ID.4 electric SUV, and ID.5.
For the new Mercedes-Benz popemobile, it could be better suited for the use case involved – short, slow local trips with a lot of stops among crowds. The pope gets to enjoy a silent, emissions-free electric ride, and the crowds won’t have to choke on fumes as he cruises by. Win-win.
All photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
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