Toyota Hilux will be the popemobile of Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina

Toyota will build and donate two Hilux converted into popemobiles for Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina, between November 8 and 11. The pickups will leave the Zárate plant, in the province of Buenos Aires — the same unit that supplies the Brazilian market.

The choice was confirmed by Toyota Argentina to the Autoblog website and the newspaper La Nación. After the trip, the two units will be donated to the Vatican, which will decide whether to keep them in the fleet used on international trips or give them another institutional destination.

One pickup for Buenos Aires, another for Córdoba

There will be two identical examples for logistical reasons. One of the Hilux will be available for the appointments in Buenos Aires and the other, for the agenda in Córdoba, which eliminates the need to transport a single vehicle between cities separated by hundreds of kilometers.

According to the itinerary released so far, the pope will lead ceremonies in the Argentine capital on the 8th, pass through Claypole, in the province of Buenos Aires, on the 9th, and return to the capital, where he will use the popemobile for the first time; he will go to Córdoba on the 10th and end his visit to the country on November 11, with a farewell mass in the Basilica of Luján.

The conversion of the pickups will be in charge of a bodybuilder approved by Toyota, following safety and engineering specifications defined by the Holy See. For protocol reasons, the automaker keeps the details confidential. It is known that the changes are concentrated in the bed and chassis, which need to be reinforced to house the pontiff’s transport structure and ensure public visibility on slow routes.

Hilux has already transported Francis in Nairobi

It is not the first time that the pickup has fulfilled the function. In November 2015, during Pope Francis’ visit to Kenya, a single-cab Hilux received a raised rear platform, seats for companions, an access ladder and a transparent roof. The relationship between the automaker and the Vatican also includes the hydrogen fuel cell-powered Mirai, adapted for Francis’ trip to Japan in 2019.

The Zárate plant has been producing the Hilux for almost three decades and exports to 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Brazil. The unit has a capacity for about 185 thousand vehicles per year, operates in three shifts and destines approximately 80% of production abroad. The SW4 and Hiace are also assembled there.

The Argentine leg is part of a 12-day trip through South America, which begins in Uruguay on November 6 and ends in Peru on November 17. It will be the first visit by a pope to Argentina since John Paul II in 1987 — Francis, born in Buenos Aires, has never returned to the country as pontiff. Brazil was left out of the itinerary.