Official state car

An official state car is an automobile used by a government to transport its head of state or head of government in an official capacity, which may also be used occasionally to transport other members of the government or visiting dignitaries from other countries. A few countries bring their own official state car for state visits to other countries, for instance, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany and Japan. It also may serve as an automotive symbol of the head of state and their country. An official state car must have adequate security, capability and stateliness for its duty. A limousine or other luxury vehicle is usually chosen to be an official state car.

Due to the high security risk of the passengers, these vehicles are often heavily modified with armored reinforcements, either by the manufacturer or an after-market specialist. When carrying an important passenger, the vehicle itself may be surrounded by a motorcade consisting of police or military personnel. The vehicle's driver might also be from the law enforcement or military pool.

In some cases, state cars may bear standard number plates; in other instances, special or no license plates are used.

Sourcing

In countries that have domestic automobile manufacturers, the government will usually commission one of the national automakers to provide a state car, or allow several to provide cars for an official state fleet. It is considered an honour for a car manufacturer to be selected to provide a state car for their respective country and a demonstration of the confidence of a government in their national industry.[1] For example, the president of the United States currently uses a Cadillac with special undisclosed security features commissioned by the United States government, built by General Motors. Historically the president also used Lincoln, manufactured by Ford Motor Company and also Chrysler vehicles having been used in the past, representing the Detroit Three of American manufacturers.

Soviet leaders used custom-built limousines made by the ZiL company, and though the Russian presidents switched to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Cars by state

This is a list of state cars and their respective users, belonging to various sovereign states and territories around the world. This list is subject to change and could be outdated in some instances, as both the individuals holding official positions and the vehicles themselves change frequently.

See also

• Air transports of heads of state and government
• Royal barge
• Royal train
• Royal yacht
• State coach

External links

• Official and Ceremonial Vehicles of World Leaders