- With various countries and regions across the world beginning to implement EV mandates that will eventually ban the sale of new petrol and diesel-powered cars, more leaders and heads of state are feeling the need to lead by example when it comes to their own vehicle fleets.
- Mass adoption of EVs within official fleets could convince yet more consumers to go electric on their next vehicle.
- From the Vatican to France, these are the states going fully-electric at the highest level.
World leaders begin to lead by example on EVs
France
French president Emmanuel Macron has become the first president to adopt a fully-electric car, after recently taking hold of an early example of DS Automobiles’ upcoming all-electric luxury car, the DS No 8. Tweaked specifically for presidential duties, changes include a bulletproof armour, flag poles, and flashing lights and sirens. DS Automobiles say this version will still be able to travel up to 466 miles on a single charge. It’s now time for other European leaders to follow suit.
The Vatican
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV has already been highly vocal on issues such as climate change, and will continue to use a fully-electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class of his predecessor, Pope Francis, as the official ‘Popemobile’. Looking further ahead into the future, The Vatican hopes to electrify its entire official vehicle fleet, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030. Volkswagen is set to supply a further 40 electric vehicles to the Vatican in the run up to that deadline.
Norway
With Norway already on track to become the first country to go fully-electric later this year, it’s no surprise that EV adoption is being partly led from the top. Whilst Norway’s prime minister is yet to adopt an EV for official duties, the Norwegian monarchy have been champions of EV adoption within their personal fleet, which includes a BMW i7, Mercedes-Benz EQS, and the fully-electric Mercedes-Benz EQV van.
The gap for OEMs to fill
Other countries are also making steps towards electrifying governmental fleets. The UK, for instance, has commited that 100% of the central government car and van fleet will be fully-electric by 2027. A number of exemptions, such as armoured vehicles, will be exempt from this deadline.
Part of the lack of EV adoption seen in leader’s vehicles comes from the need for armoured protection, with many manufacturers only offering official armoured variants of their vehicles in ICE form (though, many third parties will add armoured plating to any EV you wish). That’s starting to change, however, with BMW now directly offering its fully-electric i7 executive saloon in protective form. As more manufacturers begin to offer EVs in protective specification, and more leaders switch, we can expect this tide to turn very soon, and see wider uptake of EVs within official and high-level fleets.
