China’s car parking problem spawns start-ups with big money backers as AI dominance grows
- China’s rise as an economic powerhouse is giving its population a passport to financial success while spawning a host of businesses seeking to profit from the shortage of parking spaces in the world’s biggest car market
- Rising car ownership, market deregulation and technology enhancements could fuel years of growth, says Qiqi Zhang, managing director of Warburg Pincus in China
Wang Ranran took home 18,000 yuan (US$2,580) in her pay packet in November, a career-high that included a bonus twice her base salary, as manager of a car-park management company in Beijing.
Her daily routine starts at 8am by making sure the smart parking system at Soho Tianshan Plaza displays the accurate traffic flow and parking sessions in the 1,000-bay facility in Hongqiao business hub operated by her employer, Sunsea Parking.
Aided by the on-site system, the 32-year-old executive easily steers drivers to the vacant parking spots. Wang also knows she needs to find 25 new customers a month, from her cold calls at surrounding offices to attract drivers, boost yield and land her bonus targets.
It was in November 2015 that the technical secondary school graduate decided to seek her fortune in Beijing, leaving her junior role at a company near Tangshan city, China’s steel-producing capital in the northeastern province of Hebei.
“Without these car parks, I would be earning just a few thousand yuan in my hometown," Wang said, comparing her income with her 2,500-yuan a month job in Tangshan. “I feel I have made the right career move.”
Wang is an example of how China’s rise as an economic powerhouse is giving its population a passport to financial success while spawning a host of related businesses seeking to profit from the shortage of parking spaces in the world’s biggest car market.
