The Vatican is switching to electric cars: The Pope now drives an electric VW – Economy

Dwarf state is not a nice word; it sounds insignificant and infinitesimally small. But if the word is accurate for any country on earth, it is the Vatican. Fewer than 1,000 residents live there, including, of course, Pope Francis. The area of ​​​​the Papal States, which lies entirely within the Italian capital Rome, is 0.44 square kilometers, which is about the size of the Chicago cemetery. The Vatican is the smallest state in the world.

And yet they now have big plans: Pope Francis is relying on electric cars for his own fleet in the future. The entire vehicle fleet should become CO₂ neutral by 2030. A partnership agreement has now been signed with Volkswagen – of all places with one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, the German company, which is currently having a lot of problems with e-mobility.

VW announced that it will deliver almost 40 fully electric models from its ID family at the beginning of 2024. Francis has already personally received the first two electric vehicles, muddy gray and not Pope’s white. In later phases, additional zero-emission vehicles from the Volkswagen Group brands would be successively handed over to the Vatican. The goal is to electrify the city-state’s entire fleet by 2030. The Vatican also announced that a separate charging network for electric cars will be set up in the small national territory and in the extraterritorial areas. Volkswagen is also a strategic partner in this regard.

It is not known how many vehicles there are in the Papal States. Environmental protection is important to Pope Francis. In December he wants to travel to the World Climate Conference in Dubai. In the spirit of its environmental encyclical “Laudato Si'” from 2015 and its current apostolic exhortation “Laudate Deum”, the Vatican wants to become climate neutral – also with sustainable mobility. The Vatican has no public transport, but has had around 200 meters of railway line and its own train station since 1933, although it is rarely used.

“The fact that Vatican employees will also be among the ID drivers in the future is a great honor for our brand,” said Imelda Labbé, member of the Volkswagen brand board. The Wolfsburg-based company recently had problems selling its electric cars. The competition from China is faster when it comes to electric cars, and the vehicles are also significantly cheaper than those from VW. The Germans are therefore losing market share, and there are always problems with the software. VW boss Oliver Blume has just announced an electric car in the price category around 20,000 euros for the second half of the decade. A decision on this has not yet been made, he said South German newspaperG. “I can certainly imagine that we will have a vehicle like this in the second half of the decade,” he said. Maybe it will be too late then. But at least there are electric cars from VW in the Vatican. At least such an order – with God’s help, so to speak – is good for the image.

source site