Are you ready for remote driving? German company users 'gamers' to deliver driverless rental cars

David Linklater

  • Sign in required

    Please sign in to your account to add a vehicle to favourite

  • Share this article

Vay Remote Drivers deliver real cars to customers from the comfort of a sim-like setup.

Vay Remote Drivers deliver real cars to customers from the comfort of a sim-like setup.

  • German company Vay plans to expand remote-driving rental service.
  • Operation in the US has already completed 17,000 trips.
  • Law change in Europe opens the door to more remote driving.

Imagine ordering a rental/carshare vehicle, and having it arrive at your doorstep driven remotely by a "gamer" in a sim-like setup located kilometres away. When you're finished with it, wherever you might be, sign out and the car will be driven remotely again, back to base.

Vay remote-driving rental cars.
Vay has only been able to operate in Germany under a special permit - until now.

A German company called Vay is doing just that, and plans to expand its services following a law-change in its home country. Previously, Germany has only allowed remote/driverless operation of vehicles through special exemptions; now, the new "StVFernLV" (Federal Road Traffic Remote Driving Regulation) provides a legal framework for services such as Vay's.

Vay, formed in 2018 in Berlin, says it develped its technology to meet European needs right from the start. After demonstrations to officials, it was the first company to be allowed to operate remote-driving vehicles on German roads (with a special permit). 

But without the right legal framework at home for scale, it looked to the US and launched its remote-driving carshare service in Las Vegas in January 2024.

Vay remote-driving rental cars.
Users order on the Vay app and a Remote Driver delivers the car to their location.

Through the Vay app, users request an EV to be remotely delivered to their location. After the car arrives, the user takes control. At the end of the trip, the user ends the rental in the app, exits the car, and the Remote Driver takes over.

"This creates the most affordable door-to-door mobility service at half the price of ride-hailing services," says Vay.

Vay remore-driving rental cars.
Vay claims its service is much cheaper than regular ride-hailing; plus you get to drive yourself.

Users in Las Vegas have made over 17,000 trips and by the end of this year, Vay will have 100 vehicles on the road in the US. It has also secured a production facility in the city used to build out its electric fleet (currently based on the previous-generation Kia e-Niro) and as the company’s primary production and hardware deployment hub. Vay also operates a downtown hub in Las Vegas dedicated to "fleet readiness" and maintenance.

With the law-change in Germany, Vay says it will expand its operations in Europe and sees potential in a wide range of applications, including freight transport.