Vatican to Replace All Cars to be Electric by 2030, Thanks to Volkswagen

On November 15, 2023, Volkswagen announced it had been selected as a partner to help Vatican City gradually replace its existing cars with electric vehicles by 2030. The company stated that it will start supplying electric cars to Vatican City through Volkswagen Financial Services next year. It added that it plans to provide less than 40 battery electric vehicles, including the ID.3, ID.4, and ID.5 models.

Vatican City plans to replace all vehicles with battery electric cars by 2030. This is part of the Vatican’s long-term project, Ecological Transition 2030.

Volkswagen has initially delivered two ID.3 Pro Performance models to Vatican City. The company stated that it would provide additional models in subsequent phases, following the supply of 40 vehicles, until the entire fleet has fully transitioned to electric.

Meanwhile, last month, Pope Francis issued a statement emphasizing that signs of climate change are here and becoming increasingly evident. He stressed that human-induced climate changes are noticeably intensifying. The Pope pointed out that for every 0.5°C (0.9°F) increase in global temperature, weather anomalies such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves increase. He identified the burning of fossil fuels as a significant cause.