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 a 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 oveseas visit of his papacy — was that he shunned bulletproof vehicles, and insisted on 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 greater icon than Taylor Swift or 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 of its official vehicles to electric by 2030.

HMGICS, which began operations in June 2023, also produces autonomous robotaxis based on the IONIQ 5 platform and the IONIQ 6 sedan.

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

By riding on the IONIQ 5, Pope Francis underscored his commitment to sustainability, using his Papal platform to promote the world’s transition to greener technologies, observers said.

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