The Pope Receives his First Electric Car

Pope Francis seems to be a big hit with the kids, and this should up his (cobblestoned) street cred – German auto manufacturer, Opel, has donated an Ampera-e (the Chevy Bolt EV’s European cousin) to Vatican City.

The largely token gesture is meant to help Vatican City become “the first ‘carbon-dioxide-free’ country in the world,” and considering the Pope’s home turf is less than half a square mile (and the Ampera-e’s 60.0 kWh lithium-ion battery gets 238 miles/charge), I’d say the all-electric subcompact car is sufficient.

According to CNET, the presentation was part of the conference, "Laudato Sì: The Sustainability of Communication and Innovation," which aims to create a “sustainable mobility program” for Vatican City, aka, the smallest state in the world (with an economy based on postage stamps, souvenirs, and other knick-knacks).

I salute Opel and Pope Francis for their noble aspirations, even if an EV that can go from Manhattan to Boston on a single charge traversing a state smaller than Rhode Island is a tad overkill.