- The EIB is lending €34 million to German remote-driving company Vay.
- Berlin-based Vay is set to launch commercial services in Europe.
- The investment is backed by the European Union’s InvestEU guarantee programme.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €34 million to German teledriving technology startup Vay to help it develop its operations in Europe. The EIB loan will enable the Berlin-based company to accelerate the development of technology that enables a vehicle to be safely driven on city streets by a professionally trained human driver located at a remote teledrive station. Vay launched its first commercial service in the US city of Las Vegas in January 2024.
Vay plans to offer door-to-door car sharing in more cities in Europe and North America, while it also develops business-to-business partnerships with car manufacturers and other strategic players in the sector.
“This investment once again demonstrates our commitment to supporting European tech pioneers with global ambitions, like Vay,” said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer. “Developed here in Europe, their innovative technology opens up new ways to make passenger and goods transport more efficient while delivering clean, efficient and inclusive urban mobility in our cities.”
Vay’s technology enables professionally trained teledrivers to drive vehicles to the customer’s pick-up location remotely. Once the car arrives, the user takes manual control and drives as with any regular vehicle. After the journey is complete, the user can exit without worrying about parking because a teledriver handles parking or drives the car to the next customer. The system offers more sustainable, door-to-door mobility at half the cost of traditional ride-hailing.
Teledriving provides the distinct advantage of having a human driver remotely controlling the vehicle in real-time. As a result, the system of teledriven cars is simple to operate and offers a wide range of capabilities. This is different from fully autonomous vehicles, which face a greater number of technical and legal complexities.
https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2024-377-eib-backs-vay-s-launch-of-teledriven-car-sharing-services