We are now in a world full of connectivity. We have various digital technologies connecting almost every aspect of our life and the automotive industry is no exception, fundamentally, it has connected us from point A to point B since its inception. A new shift, primarily driven by IoT technology, has refocused the industry's attention on creating better in-car experiences for drivers through connectivity, which was certainly long overdue.
According to McKinsey & Co1, we see that there is a high demand for autonomous and connected technologies within vehicles in China, with many drivers even happy to pay a premium for these features. With connectivity, both connected parking and e-payments features within the top requested technologies and demand only intensifies as you focus on the premium vehicle sector, where connected and integrated features are highly in demand to assist with everyday tasks as minimum expectations now. This shows the criticality of Parkopedia’s work within the industry and how it is serving both the customers of today, in addition to delivering on the demands of the drivers of the future. Vehicle-centric demands continue to increase in 2021, this is due to the significantly enhanced experience for the driver by deeply integrating services within the vehicle and leveraging many of the vehicle sensors to work in harmony. This certainly contrasts the sometimes disconnected smartphone app world when focussing on the single application for drivers and why the market has started to shift towards integrated solutions that create a seamless experience.
Parkopedia is the world’s leading digital parking service and in-car parking payment provider. We know that accurate parking data is fundamental for effective in-car commerce today and for automated transactions in the future. As mentioned, our services are deeply integrated into the vehicle and today we help drivers find, pay and reserve parking all through the vehicle head unit. Parkopedia aggregates key service providers in China across the parking payments industry, all within our platform. In China, this allows drivers to enter parking facilities effortlessly, use license plate recognition, a RFID tag or a QR code amongst other forms to automate the process. We provide a seamless platform that safely and securely enables the driver or vehicle to be recognised by the parking operator, to automate a contact free entry and exit and manage all associated payments digitally. We solve the time-consuming and expensive task of integrating a large variety of payment types and parking providers, by aggregating different solutions into one single, neutral, payment platform.
It is clear the demand for in-car connectivity will continue to grow as car owners wish to both replicate and integrate their immersive digital experiences into all aspects of their life, to bring more convenience as well as the pleasure back to driving. Early 2021, we will see our first parking transactions application for a China OEM as manufacturers go to market and meet this rising demand.
Resource 1：https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Automotive%20and%20Assembly/Our%20Insights/China%20auto%20consumer%20insights%202019/McKinsey-China-Auto-Consumer-Insights-2019.pdf
