Vatican Vehicles Go Electric

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis and other Vatican officials will soon be driving electric vehicles. Early next year, Volkswagen AG will deliver 40 EVs, including the ID.3, ID.4 and ID.5.

The vehicles are part of a decarbonization strategy that aims to make the Vatican fleet climate-neutral by 2030. Sustainable mobility is at the heart of a specific program called "Ecological Conversion 2030” that aims to reduce the CO2 footprint of the state's vehicle fleet. To achieve this, the existing gas-powered vehicles will be gradually replaced by battery-powered cars.

"The electrification of fleets is becoming increasingly important across the globe,” says Imelda Labbé, a member of the board of management for sales, marketing and after sales at Volkswagen Passenger Cars. “The fact that Vatican employees will now also be among our ID. drivers in the future is a great target and honor for our brand, and underscores the attractiveness of our all-electric models.”

"We are delighted to support the Vatican in this important project,” adds Christian Dahlheim, Ph.D., chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Financial Services AG. “This is something very special for us and shows that we are absolutely competitive with our mobility solutions."

Austin has been senior editor for ASSEMBLY Magazine since September 1999. He has more than 21 years of b-to-b publishing experience and has written about a wide variety of manufacturing and engineering topics. Austin is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

The ASSEMBLY Show South

ASSEMBLY is thrilled to return to the Music City Center in Nashville, TN for The ASSEMBLY Show SOUTH on May 1-2, 2024. This is a booming time for manufacturing and the U.S. South is right in the heart of the action. According to ASSEMBLY’s most recent annual capital spending survey, the South is projected to account for 31 percent of total spending this year, marking the fifth straight year this region has accounted for at least 30 percent of capital spending in the U.S.

In this session, manufacturers will learn how Quality function deployment (QFD) can transform consumers’ qualitative demands into quantitative parameters that will shape the design of their product and, ultimately, their manufacturing process.

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