Pope Francis will now travel in a zero-emission vehicle because, for the first time, the Pope Mobile will be electric.
It is a new Mercedes-Benz, based on the G-Classwhich will be available for the Jubilee of 2025, an event that takes place every 25 years, in which millions of pilgrims are expected in Rome.
The vehicle meets demanding requirements and has been developed in close collaboration with the Vatican.
Mercedes-Benz It has been delivering vehicles to the Vatican for 94 years and, for 45 years, the model used of the famous ‘Popemobiles’ has been inspired by this model from the German brand.
Pope Francis, premiere with the new popemobile
During the handover, Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, underlined Mercedes-Benz’s global sustainability strategy: “With the new Popemobile, Francis is the first Pope to travel in a fully electric Mercedes-Benz. when it makes public appearances. This is a great honor for our company. With this Popemobile, we reaffirm the course towards electromobility and decarbonization. Mercedes-Benz not only represents the special and the individual, it also aims for a fleet of new vehicles. carbon neutral by 2039”.
The Popemobile is made by hand based on the new electric G-Class. Like previous Popemobiles, the vehicle is painted in the classic pearl white color on the outside.
Källenius was accompanied at the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica by Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Directors and responsible for Sales and Marketing, and Marc Langenbrinck, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Italia.
In addition, Francisco met with those who developed and built it. Employees from Design, Research and Development, Production and Sales and Marketing were part of it; together with a team of specialists from the Graz, Sindelfingen and Rome plants who worked together for approximately a year.
The project was managed by the Rome team, while the electric powertrain was adapted by the Graz team.
Sindelfingen experts custom-made the body, interior and equipment using traditional craftsmanship techniques.
The first vehicle of the brand used by a Holy Father was a Nürburg 460 Pullman Saloon for Pope Pius XI in 1930.
In the sixties, John XXIII received a Landaulet 300 with automatic transmission and longer wheelbase.
His successor, Paul VI, initially used a Landaulet 600 Pullman and later a 300 SEL, also a Landaulet.
In the 1980s, John Paul II received the first vehicle officially called the Popemobile for events in St. Peter’s Square, a modified G-Class.
Starting in 2002, he began traveling on a G 500, which was also used by his successors Benedict XVI and Francis.
On certain occasions, vehicles designed on the basis of the M-Class and the GLE were manufactured.
Some of the previous Popemobiles are on display in the Vatican and others in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
Source: Ambito
