Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5: Pope Francis’ Popemobile in Singapore

Pope Francis on Friday wrapped up his 12-day visit to the Asia-Pacific region with his visit to Singapore, where less than 10% of the population identify themselves as Catholic.

One noticeable aspect of his trip to the region – the longest foreign visit of his papacy – was that he liked to shun bulletproof vehicles, insisting on using locally made cars. In Singapore, the Popemobile was the IONIQ 5, South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s first all-electric crossover.

Following his trip to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea, the 87-year-old arrived in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon.

Throughout his three-day stay in the city state, the Pope used the IONIQ 5 Prestige, produced at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS), one of the carmaker’s innovation labs worldwide.

While in Singapore, the pontiff met with government officials, religious leaders and students.

On Thursday evening, he celebrated Mass with 50,000 people at the National Stadium.

Arguably a bigger icon than Taylor Swift and Madonna, who performed in Singapore's grandest arena, the Pope, traveling on the IONIQ 5, was seen welcomed by both faithful and atheists everywhere he went.

LONGTIME ADVOCATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

His visit marks the first time a Pope has visited Singapore since Pope John Paul II in 1986.

Pope Francis has long been an advocate of environmental protection and climate change action, and the Vatican has committed to transitioning all its official vehicles to electric by 2030.

HMGICS, which began operations in June last year, also produces autonomous robotaxis based on the IONIQ 5 platform and the IONIQ 6 sedan.

The 58 kWh Prestige model can travel about 6.6 km per kWh, with a maximum range of around 380 km on a single charge. It can charge from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes.

With his ride on the IONIQ 5, Pope Francis once again underscored his commitment to sustainability, using his platform to promote the world’s transition to greener technologies, watchers said.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.