The smart parking market is vast, and the key lies in how to break through.

The shortage of parking spaces is substantial. As the number of motor vehicles in urban areas has surged, statistics show that by the first half of 2019, the national vehicle stock had reached 340 million, with passenger cars accounting for 250 million. On the other hand, China’s smart parking equipment is growing rapidly at a rate of 30%. According to online reports, when factoring in parking demand, the size of China’s smart parking market could exceed RMB 300 billion. With the smart parking market so vast, how can parking operators break through?

The advantages of smart parking

First, it can improve parking space utilization. According to the “2017 China Smart Parking Industry Big Data Report,” in more than 90% of cities nationwide, the average parking vacancy rate exceeds 50%. With an overall shortage of parking spaces, this high vacancy rate further exacerbates the challenge of finding parking. Smart parking systems, leveraging cloud-based data, can aggregate parking‑related information across different regions and allocate parking spaces more efficiently, thereby boosting overall parking‑space utilization.

Secondly, it can significantly improve parking efficiency. Statistical data indicate that 30% of traffic congestion is attributable to parking difficulties, and 48% of vehicles must wait in line when entering or exiting parking facilities. Test results from Xinhuanet at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport further show that, under the traditional card‑issuing system, a parking lot can process only three vehicles per minute, and completing all parking procedures can require a half‑hour wait. By contrast, after implementing an intelligent parking system—during the trial phase alone—license‑plate recognition enabled the throughput of 11 vehicles per minute, more than tripling operational efficiency. If both drivers and parking operators adopt a comprehensive smart‑parking solution, parking efficiency could be boosted even further.

Finally, pricing is more transparent and affordable. With smart parking, users can reserve parking spaces, manage parking durations, and make payments—all online. This allows drivers to access relevant parking information directly through a mobile app, helping to prevent issues such as arbitrary or unreasonable charging at parking facilities.

In addition, smart parking systems are largely self-managed, eliminating most manual administrative processes. This helps reduce labor costs for parking facilities, while lower vacancy rates boost revenue and make parking fees more affordable for drivers.

Where lies the breakthrough for smart parking?

As an emerging industry, it is only natural that smart parking remains underdeveloped and immature. However, with a market size projected to reach trillions of yuan, the opportunity for businesses is time‑critical. By tapping into this market early, companies can not only capture a share of this “trillion‑yuan” pie but also significantly enhance quality of life and drive the further development and refinement of smart cities. To achieve meaningful progress, smart parking must address and refine itself across the following key areas.

Break down information silos across platforms. Relevant data indicate that smart parking can increase parking space utilization by 30%; however, because each smart‑parking platform operates independently, it creates isolated information islands among parking facilities, significantly undermining the effectiveness of improved utilization rates. Therefore, it is essential for smart‑parking platforms to form an industry consortium and establish a shared parking‑space information platform, eliminating inter‑platform data barriers and maximizing parking resource efficiency through resource sharing.

Increase investment in research and development. While the core technologies underpinning smart parking have largely been addressed, a key reason why smart parking systems have yet to achieve widespread adoption nationwide is their high cost. To overcome this challenge, smart‑parking providers must ramp up R&D efforts, drive the mass production and simplification of these technologies, and thereby enable their large‑scale deployment across the country.

Enrich the product ecosystem. Looking ahead, the Internet of Everything in autonomous vehicles and smart cities will become a reality. As a key domain of human life, the car accounts for nearly one-tenth of modern daily routines, making it a new type of “user gateway.” Accordingly, after-sales services such as vehicle repair, maintenance, and detailing—along with adjacent sectors like entertainment, shopping, and healthcare—can be seamlessly integrated into smart parking systems, leveraging this massive traffic hub to unlock even greater market opportunities.