---
title: "General Motors Gives Pope Francis a European Chevy Bolt"
description: "The Bishop of Rome has a new electric ride, thanks to Opel."
date: "2017-06-02"
modified: "2017-06-02"
authors:
  - name: "Aaron Brown"
    job_title: "Staff Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/aaron-brown"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/11078/general-motors-gives-pope-francis-a-european-chevy-bolt"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Chevrolet News"
  - "Culture"
  - "Electric Vehicles"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "People"
tags:
  - "ampera"
  - "Bolt"
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "Chevy"
  - "compact"
  - "Electric Cars"
  - "Electric Vehicle"
  - "Hatchback"
  - "Opel"
  - "pope"
---

# General Motors Gives Pope Francis a European Chevy Bolt

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/papa-francescoper-k-t-neumann-opel-ampera-e-304632.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

General Motors has given Pope Francis an Opel Ampera-e, the European market's version of the Chevrolet [Bolt](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/9669/chevrolet-bolt-ev-owners-have-already-traveled-4570300-miles>) electric hatchback, the automaker announced in a [press release](<https://media.opel.com/media/intl/en/opel/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/intl/en/2017/opel/05-31-pope-receives-ampera-e.html>) issued Wednesday.

The car was given to the Pope at the Sustainability of Communication and Innovation Conference in Rome. At the event, Opel, officials for the Vatican, and energy industry professionals spoke about planning out a more environmentally-friendly future for Vatican City, which has pledged to try and become the first carbon dioxide-free country on planet Earth.

“We are proud that we as Opel can contribute to the ambitious goals of the Vatican City," said Opel CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, according to the press release.

The Ampera-e is NEDC-rated to have 323 miles of electric driving range. It's marketed in Europe under the Opel nameplate, a previously GM-owned brand that Peugeot agreed to purchase—along with its sister brand Vauxhall—in[ March for $2.3 billion](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/8099/general-motors-ditches-opel-for-2-3-billion>). (That deal is currently pending while it awaits regulatory approval.)

Earlier in 2017, the Pope was given the option to take a free [Tesla Model S](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/6007/tesla-model-s-declared-the-most-loved-car-in-america-again>) or a [Nissan Leaf](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/9871/nissan-exec-hints-at-200-mile-leaf-longer-range-electric-car-for-2020>) as part of a previous push to start inching the Vatican toward a more sustainable path, according to [*Electrek*](<https://electrek.co/2017/03/03/pope-francis-tesla-model-s-nissan-leaf/>). In that instance, the Pope chose the Leaf. Now with the Ampera-e parked in his garage, the Bishop of Rome has a mini-fleet of EVs to choose from.

## Author
Aaron was previously a contributing writer with Jalopnik and has also written for Business Insider covering cars. When he's not in the office writing the news, you'll probably find him thrashing a beater car around a RallyCross.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/aaronmaxb>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/aaronmaxb>)