Start-up Vay tests remote-controlled cars

The start-up is now allowed to carry out its remote-controlled test drives in Hamburg-Bergedorf.

The start-up Vay has been granted an exemption for test drives without a driver in the car on public roads. The exemption is granted by the Authority for Transport and Mobility Change of the City of Hamburg (BVM). It is based on a positive expert opinion from TÜV Süd, he said.

"We are very happy about the good cooperation with the authorities and this important step to get our unique concept on the road as soon as possible," says Thomas von der Ohe, co-founder and CEO of Vay. He co-founded the startup in 2018 with Fabrizio Scelsi and Bogdan Djukic. The founders have developed remote-controlled e-cars. Vay offers its customers a door-to-door service. A teledriver remotely delivers the ordered car to its customers and picks it up after the trip. The teledrivers control the vehicles from a central office. While customers are in the car, however, they drive the vehicle themselves.

According to Vay, the service should be similar in cost to car-sharing services and thus offer an alternative to owning a car in the long term. In the future, autonomous functions will also be integrated into the system using the data collected from the journeys.