What car does Anthony Albanese drive?

The Federal Government recently announced updated emissions standards that could see the manufacturers of fuel-hungry vehicles like utes and SUVs penalised.

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The new efficiency standards are designed to encourage car manufacturers to increase their sales of lower-emissions vehicles; otherwise, they will face fines for having a less efficient line-up of cars in Australia.

Parts of the automotive industry have raised concerns the fines could price popular SUVs and utes out of the reach of consumers if manufacturers pass these additional costs on to the customer – while other advocates think the proposed regulations don't go far enough to fix the problem at hand.

However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese maintains the emissions standards won't mean a dramatic change for consumers, telling the general public they can still “drive whatever vehicles they like”.

“All we’re doing here is bringing our emissions standards to the same level by 2028 that the United States of America has had in place for some time,” he told Adelaide Radio station Five AA.

“There’s a few big vehicles in the United States. Indeed, they’re a fair bit bigger than vehicles that are available here. What we want to avoid is Australia just becoming a dumping ground for the dirtiest vehicles.”

But while the debate rages on, all this talk about car choices had us thinking: what does Anthony Albanese use as his daily driver?

Before becoming Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese drove a hybrid Toyota Camry – but his election as PM forced him to trade this frugal passenger car for a fleet of high-performance, high-security cars driven by trained professionals.

These days, Albo gets around in a fleet of BMW 7 Series limousines, each of them powered by a massive twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 engine making a whopping 400kW of power and 750Nm of torque.

But they're not just any old 7 Series – each of the PM's daily drivers are highly armoured vehicles with underbody bomb protection, onboard oxygen supplies, bulletproof doors and windows, and puncture-proof tyres.

They're built in a factory-backed assembly area in Germany specialising in hand-built armoured cars that offer various levels of protection.

All this comes at a cost of weight; the bulletproof BMW weighs in at a massive 3675kg, bringing the fuel consumption down to an eye-watering 14.9L/100km. Before you go searching for your own armoured BMW, no, these aren’t available for the public to buy.

The completed car costs over $500,000, and if you want to be Albo’s chauffeur, you have to go through an extensive driver training course run by BMW in Germany.

With the Australian Government's armour-plated 7 Series models approaching 10 years old, it could be time for Albo to upgrade to an electric armoured vehicle.

BMW recently announced its i7 Protection, an electric 7 Series with all the VR9 protection seen on the petrol-powered models.

Powered by two electric motors and offering 400kW of power, the i7 Protection, with all its armour, weighs in at nearly five tonnes. The range is claimed to be around 380km and does 0–100km/h in nine seconds. 

The i7 Protection is limited to the European market only at the moment, but it is the first electric-only vehicle with this much protection.

Much like the rules surrounding the United States President, Albanese is banned from driving his own car for safety reasons.

“Being Prime Minister is a bit more difficult, I can’t go anywhere, not only to the sushi shop or to the train without giving an hour’s notice and without there being an entire security exercise. I am not allowed to drive a car. It’s one of the security issues,” Albanese told Perth Radio.

However, prior to becoming Prime Minister, Albanese drove a more eco-conscious Toyota Camry Hybrid.

The Camry was a stock-standard factory model powered by a 2.5-litre four-cylinder with a 160kW hybrid system, offering a much more climate-friendly fuel usage of 4.2L/100km.

Back in 2021, Albo's Camry took a hit when it was 'T-boned' by a 17-year-old in a Range Rover. The P-plater was charged with negligent driving, while Albanese was released from the hospital shortly after and praised modern-day car safety for keeping him relatively unharmed.

"If this accident was 10 years ago, I wouldn't be speaking to you," Mr Albanese said at the time.

"The technology that makes a difference to the front end of my car, and the new seatbelt technology has made an enormous difference."

Before changing to his hybrid Camry, it seems the future PM favoured a Ford FG Falcon – based on a photo the then-Shadow Transport Minister posted to his Twitter of him changing a tyre on the way to a meeting in Newcastle.