The market research analysts attribute this predicted healthy growth to increasing government investment in smart city projects and initiatives to curb traffic congestion. Further, advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT), and significant investment by market players in R&D for innovative product development are anticipated to drive industry growth remarkably through 2030.

On the other hand, the Covid-19 pandemic negatively influenced market growth in 2020 due to strict lockdowns by various governments to curb the virus transmission. However, from early 2021, the market witnessed high growth driven by significant investment by several governments in infrastructure development activities and the transport sector to improve the economy of the country, creating robust market opportunities.

Integration with other smart city technologies

Smart parking systems assist city administrations in managing dispersed parking spaces efficiently and drivers in locating available parking spaces to mitigate traffic congestion. Further, the growing technological advancements have led to the integration of transport systems, geospatial systems, and parking data from wireless sensors. The use of technologies such as smart parking meters, license plate recognition (LPR) cameras, and parking guidance systems for parking has facilitated the ease of vehicle parking, thereby reducing the wastage of time and fuel. These factors, along with the rising vehicle sales globally, are expected to boost the growth of the smart parking system market.

The growing urban population is likely to lead to an increase in the number of challenges faced by cities, such as traffic congestion. However, the development of smart cities is expected to offer opportunities for governments to address these challenges effectively. The governments of various countries such as India, the U.S., South Korea, China, Australia, Japan, Germany, and Brazil are launching smart city projects, creating a favourable smart parking system market outlook. For instance, in October 2022, an investment & construction company from Indonesia, PT PP (Persero) Tbk, collaborated with a smart industrial solution provider, LG CNS from South Korea, to plan the smart city project for Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, supporting the industry trend.

Advancing technologies and digital payment

The significant rise in automated parking solutions integrations combined with the advancements in wireless and digital payment technologies is expected to contribute to market growth. Technologies utilised to implement these systems include advanced sensors, data analytics, smart parking meters, and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication, along with mobile applications for slot reservations and online payments. These technologies are designed to determine whether a parking lot is empty or occupied and evaluate & transmit the information to mobile and web applications. These advancements in technologies are expected to fuel the smart parking systems market growth.

Market challenges to overcome

Lack of awareness regarding the smart parking benefits is the main restraint for the growth of the market during the forecast period. Further, the smart parking solutions equipped with RFID tags face disruption in signals due to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic interference causes disturbance in the tracking signal, due to which vehicles are faultily detected. This is expected to create numerous challenges for operators and drivers in the forecast period. To tackle this issue, market players are collaborating with technology providers to develop innovative market solutions. For instance, in November 2020, Park+, a smart parking solution company, partnered with Mygate, a community & security service provider, to develop RFID-equipped smart parking solutions for the residential market.

LPR is fastest growing segment

The analysts suggest that the cameras & license plate recognition (LPR) segment is anticipated to emerge as the fastest-growing segment at a CAGR of 23.3% during the forecast period. This can be attributed to the growing use of LPRs in-vehicle surveillance as they greatly reduce the workforce required or the amount of time to achieve these tasks. Increasing technologies such as image processing and human-computer interaction have led to cameras being increasingly deployed in smart parking systems for detecting the entry and exit of vehicles in a parking site.

Software and analytics

The parking guidance systems segment accounted for a revenue share of over 75% in 2022. These guiding systems have gained traction in the market as they assist with vacant slots, provide parking guidelines, the number of available spaces, and the duration of availability, and help them in saving their time. Industry players are focusing on unveiling their cutting-edge guidance systems to increase their share in the global smart parking systems market. 

The analytics solutions segment is poised to exhibit significant growth with a CAGR of 25.2% over the forecast period. The growth can be owned by the ability of the parking sensors fitted on several structures, such as light poles, to thoroughly collect reliable information about occupied and vacant spaces. This information is collected in real-time and transmitted to end-users using an analytics solution and ensures security and safety at parking sites in case of emergencies and contingencies. The increase in technology-based companies is expected to enable easy parking, booking, and paying for slots at various parking sites, thereby increasing the demand for analytics solutions.

Some of the key players

The report covers numerous active players in the smart parking market, amongst them are many national and international players, such as: Altiux Innovations; Cisco Systems, BMW (with Parknow and Parkmobile); Kapsch Trafficcom; Meter Feeder Inc.; Nedap N.V.; Park Assist; Robert Bosch GmbH; Siemens AG; Skidata AG; Smart Parking Ltd.; Swarco AG; and Urbiotica, S.L.