Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, will ride in a battery-powered Mercedes G-Wagon. This follows the unveiling of a new “open-top” Popemobile, an all-electric Mercedes-Benz, on Wednesday. Pope Francis will reportedly ride in the electric car when he greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican’s Holy Year in 2025, the anniversary of its founding is scheduled to take place from December 24 to January. June 2026. The event held every 25 years of the century, will also include artificial intelligence services for St. Peter’s Basilica.
Mercedes executives visited the Vatican on Wednesday to deliver the handcrafted Popemobile, an electric vehicle that’s a modified version of the Mercedes G-Class midsize luxury SUV with a higher seat for Pope Francis, giving crowds a better view of the pontiff.
Another notable feature is the grab handle that allows Pope Francis to keep his balance while standing inside the vehicle. It is also available in white, the traditional papal colour.
Mercedes-Benz Group Chairman and CEO Sten Ola Källenius commented on the construction process: “It took hundreds of hours of craftsmanship to build the unique Popemobile,” he told Reuters. However, he declined to mention the price of the vehicle.
The Mercedes-Benz Group has been struggling to sell electric cars in a competitive market for some time. Now that Pope Francis will be driving the vehicle in the Holy Year, she may have received a heavenly endorsement for the product. Mercedes officials have described the new vehicle as the “first all-electric Popemobile,” even though Francis has previously used electric cars on international trips.
Pope Francis, who has been pope since March 2013, has largely eschewed bulletproof vehicles, preferring to stay as close to people as possible. During his papacy, the pope has repeatedly stressed the importance of environmental issues.
Mercedes has been supplying special vehicles to the Pope for almost a century, including the first bulletproof version in 1981, introduced after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II the previous year.
