Above all, electric: our federal council members travel in these limousines

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The office of the Federal Council comes with a number of privileges. The ministers have access to two vehicles. One with driver, the representative vehicle. And one thing especially for you: your personal company car.

Black limousines dominate the representative cars in which federal council members often drive to official events or to be picked up from home. Five government members opted for a BMW and one for a Mercedes, according to Blick’s latest car list.

BMW dominates

SP newcomer Beat Jans (59), Center Minister of Defense Viola Amherd (61) and the two SVP magistrates Guy Parmelin (64) and Albert Rösti (56) can all drive around in a BMW i7 xDrive60. An electrically powered luxury car. The federal government bought the new cars last year.

FDP Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (62) and the new GLP Chancellor Viktor Rossi (55) rely on a BMW 745Le xDrive plug-in hybrid.

SP Minister of Social Affairs Elisabeth Baume-Schneider (60), on the other hand, is driven in a Mercedes EQV. An e-minibus with up to eight seats, so that its employees can also find space and work while driving.

FDP Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (60) – a real saver – renounces a permanently assigned representative vehicle from the federal government. “If necessary, it will engage a civil company to provide the driver and the vehicle,” the federal government says. The vehicle used for this is currently a 2014 Mercedes S500 4Matic. A possible replacement is currently being clarified.

Climate neutral fleet

This means that almost all representative vehicles are electric or at least hybrid. That is also the stated goal of the federal government. Armasuisse, who is responsible for purchasing, only purchases purely electrically powered vehicles as representative vehicles.

In 2021, Secretary of Defense Amherd instructed that the federal government could only purchase electrically powered cars. The goal is for the federal government to set a good example and become climate neutral by 2030. Cars with combustion engines may only be purchased in justified cases.

Amherd is now on the road with a Volvo

In addition to an official car, federal council members are also entitled to a personal company car. Here the brand palette is more colorful.

Amherd has been driving a black Lexus UX 250h AWD Excellence since 2019, but now drives a Swedish Volvo XC40 Recharge. A sleek electric car, which Baume-Schneider also opted for last year.

Cassis and Parmelin’s personal vehicles were born in 2013 and are significantly older. The Ticino resident also relies on a BMW here: the 320d xDrive. Accordingly, Cassis still has an internal combustion engine, albeit a rather economical one. Parmelin, from Vaud, also drives a Japanese Mazda 6, a car with a combustion engine. What stands out about him is the choice of color: red.

Three do not use their own company car

SVP man Rösti and FDP woman Keller-Sutter continue to use their own private cars. The man from Bern drives a Volvo S90 and the woman from St. Gallen drives an English Mini. SP Minister of Justice Jans does not have a personal company car.

Striking: even if the federal council members are allowed to vote freely, no one drives a Lamborghini or Ferrari. Probably also because 0.9 percent of the purchase price of the private car is deducted from the salary statement every month as ‘private part of the company car’.

Source:Blick