The smart garage industry is poised to become the mainstream solution to parking challenges in the future.

In recent years, with the rapid development of China’s automotive industry and urbanization, the sharp increase in private cars has led to serious challenges such as parking shortages and inadequate parking facilities. Consequently, the development of multi‑storey parking garages and their role in addressing these parking difficulties have attracted widespread attention. Industry experts contend that, given the limited availability of land, expanding conventional surface parking spaces will become increasingly difficult; therefore, constructing and utilizing multi‑storey parking structures is emerging as a mainstream solution to the growing parking crisis.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport, China currently has approximately 33 million privately owned vehicles. By 2010, the country’s vehicle fleet is expected to reach around 55 million, with passenger cars accounting for 53% of that total. Yu Jin believes that at least 15 million parking spaces for passenger cars will need to be provided through the construction of multi‑storey parking facilities.

In 2016, China became the world’s second-largest new‑car market, with domestic sales reaching 11.2 million vehicles, while the total number of registered vehicles stood at 69.85 million, including 23.34 million private passenger cars. The difficulty of finding parking has emerged as a major urban transportation challenge, following the already pressing issue of traffic congestion. At its root, the shortage of parking spaces is the primary cause of this problem.

According to the experience of developed countries, the typical vehicle-to-parking-space ratio is 1:1.2. By this benchmark, China’s historical parking‑space shortfall exceeds 12 million spaces, with an annual deficit of more than 5 million new spaces. The severe shortage of parking has led to widespread illegal and on‑street parking.

Based on the actual conditions of China’s automotive industry and urban development, the country should accelerate the growth of the parking‑equipment sector, promote the adoption of mechanical multi‑storey parking systems, and comprehensively address the challenge of urban parking shortages. In recent years, the multi‑storey parking industry has begun to take shape. By the end of 2006, China had more than 2,200 multi‑storey parking facilities, providing a total of 280,000 parking spaces; by the end of this year, that number could rise to 400,000.

Compared with traditional self‑parking garages, mechanical multi‑level parking systems not only save space but also offer advantages such as ease of use, simple operation, reliability, and safety, along with quick vehicle storage and retrieval. They reduce conflicts arising from parking, enhance vehicle security and protection, and contribute to improving the urban landscape. Multi‑level parking has a nearly 60‑year history in Europe and the United States, where it has grown into a $26 billion industry; it has also been established for more than four decades in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Thus, although multi‑level parking is only just gaining traction in China, it has already reached a high degree of maturity.

　Compared with traditional conventional underground parking garages, multi‑storey automated parking systems demonstrate superior performance in many respects.

First, multi‑storey parking structures offer a significant advantage in land conservation. Traditional underground garages, which require ample driving lanes, typically occupy about 40 square meters per vehicle. In contrast, a double‑deck automated parking system can increase ground‑level space utilization by 80% to 90%. Moreover, a multi‑storey (up to 21 levels) above‑ground automated parking facility can accommodate 40 vehicles on just 50 square meters of land, thereby substantially conserving limited land resources and reducing civil‑engineering development costs.

Compared with underground parking garages, automated parking systems can more effectively ensure the safety of both people and vehicles. When a person is inside the garage or when a vehicle is not properly positioned, the entire electronically controlled system will remain inactive. In essence, mechanical parking systems can achieve complete separation between pedestrians and vehicles from a management standpoint.

In underground parking garages, the use of automated parking systems can eliminate the need for heating and ventilation equipment, resulting in significantly lower operating energy consumption compared to manually managed underground garages. Automated parking systems are typically not offered as complete turnkey solutions but are assembled from individual units. This approach leverages their advantages—minimal land footprint and modular scalability—enabling the flexible installation of automated parking structures within each residential cluster or beneath individual buildings. Such flexibility provides a practical solution to the pressing issue of insufficient parking in many communities today.

The market for the development and application of unmanned intelligent systems is still in its infancy, with only a handful of companies nationwide engaged in such projects—many of which are currently at the imitation‑and‑development stage. By contrast, human‑operated automated parking systems are more mature, feature lower failure rates, and enjoy greater acceptance among property owners. In the near future, unmanned intelligent automated parking garages are poised to become a major trend—stay tuned!