Volkswagen officials stated that the company "will supply the Vatican State with a fleet starting from the beginning of 2024. At later stages, further zero-emission vehicles also from the Volkswagen Group brands will be progressively handed over up until the entire fleet has been completely replaced by 2030."

Modernizing Vatican's fleet of vehicles is one part of the long-term strategy of the state to become fully carbon-neutral and only rely on renewable energy, says Reuters.

Vatican's fleet of cars is made up of dozens of dark blue-painted vehicles, which are mostly used to take officials around Rome and at other event sites, but there are also vehicles destined for delivery and maintenance, for example.

Vatican officials also plan to build a network of chargers around the city-state, as well as on properties owned in the city of Rome and the employees will also be able to use them to juice up their personal vehicles. This has been decided so that they will be encouraged to shift to battery-powered cars for personal use.

Pope Francis is one of the world leaders that makes a priority out of protecting the environment and urged the planet to move away from fossil fuels.