In a significant leap towards advancing mobility, Belgium has launched its first remote-driven car rental service, marking the first revenue-generating deployment of Europe’s remotely driven vehicles.
Poppy Mobility, a prominent car-sharing and rental operator in Belgium, has collaborated with Ush, an autonomous vehicle solutions developer, to introduce this innovative technology to the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
The initiative is supported by Vay, a German remote-driving technology company. Vay, which currently operates a commercial door-to-door remote driving service in Las Vegas, has successfully completed 6,000 trips, with plans to expand its services in the city to 100 vehicles in 2025. Through an exclusive partnership with Ush, Vay aims to further develop and commercialize remote-driving technology across Europe.
Rollout Phases
Max Levandowski, CEO of Ush, emphasized that bringing remote-driving technology to Belgium requires a careful, gradual approach in collaboration with regulators.
Commenting on the initial deployment of the initiative, Levandowski, said, “We chose to start at a manageable scale with two vehicles serving key locations in the port.”
The initial phase will be deployed at the port’s right bank, with a safety driver on board to monitor the first rides. The second phase, which will be implemented in the coming months, will gradually expand to the port’s left bank, while the third phase will enable full-scale operations without onboard safety drivers by the end of 2025.
Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO of Port of Antwerp-Bruges, remarked, “With the introduction of remote-driving technology in Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the port confirms its role as a testing ground for cutting-edge technologies. It has already served as a launch pad for autonomous shipping and autonomous drones, both of which are now scaling rapidly, demonstrating how the port accelerates innovation.”
Vandermeiren further noted that the remote-driving trials reinforce the port’s position as a key innovation hub where technologies are tested, validated, and fast-tracked for commercial deployment, aligning with the port’s goal of becoming a regulatory sandbox.
Navigating the App
Users can request a rental car via the Poppy app, which Ush will remotely drive to the user’s location in real-time.
Once the vehicle arrives, users can either take control of the vehicle themselves or choose to be driven by a remote driver operating from Ush’s teledrive station. This service is expected to streamline car rental logistics and deliver unparalleled user convenience.
Highlighting the initiative, Vay’s CEO and founder, Thomas von der Ohe, stated, “I moved back to Europe from Silicon Valley and joined my co-founders to take advantage of our continent’s world leading automotive engineering excellence. With this partnership, we are thrilled to see our vision for the future of mobility taking shape. For the first time, remotely driven vehicles are now operating commercially on European roads. With the support of regulators, we hope this will be the first of many exciting remote-driven projects across Europe.”
Poppy aims to extend the service to Antwerp by 2026, provided that regulatory approvals and completion of trials prove to be successful.