The Vatican has struck a deal with Volkswagen to replace its entire car fleet

The Vatican announced on Wednesday the signing of a deal with German carmaker Volkswagen to replace the city-state’s entire car fleet with electric vehicles by the end of this decade, reports Reuters.

The Vatican Prefecture did not provide the financial details of the contract but stated in a press release that it is a medium and long-term one and that it involves both Volkswagen cars and the Skoda brand owned by the German company.

The Vatican also said the “partnership agreement” with Volkswagen Group is one way it aims to achieve its long-term goal of the city-state, the world’s smallest country, becoming carbon neutral. carbon and rely only on renewable energy.

The car park of the Holy See counts dozens of cars, most of them dark blue. Drivers employed by the Vatican drive Holy See officials to events in Rome, but also outside the Italian capital. The fleet also includes numerous maintenance, gardening and delivery vehicles.

But Reuters points out that many less important Vatican officials use their own cars to get to work inside the city-state of Rome.

The communique issued by the Holy See regarding its partnership with Volkswagen also announces the construction of a network of electric vehicle charging stations both inside the Vatican and at other properties in the Italian capital.

The Vatican wants to convince its employees to switch to electric cars

The Vatican also says the network will be able to be used by its employees to charge their private electric cars, another measure aimed at persuading them to ditch cars with internal combustion engines.

Pope Francis is currently driven around the Vatican in a Ford Focus or Fiat 500, both entry-level models, as he did not want to use the fuel-guzzling bulletproof limousines of his predecessors.

The press release issued on Wednesday did not reveal whether Volkswagen will also build a “popemobile”, the Vatican’s special vehicle for the sovereign pontiff’s public trips to Saint Peter’s Square and the countries he visits. Currently, the “popemobile” used by Pope Francis is a Mercedes.

At the age of 86, Pope Francis has made environmental protection one of the pillars of his pontificate, launching numerous calls to abandon fossil fuels. The sovereign pontiff recently warned that the world is “falling apart” due to insufficient measures to combat the effects of climate change.

The announcement by the Vatican regarding the electrification of its car fleet comes about two weeks before the COP 28 summit on climate change, hosted by the United Arab Emirates.

During the summit that will take place between November 30 and December 12, Pope Francis will address world leaders.