The private parking market | Germany

1.1 Introduction and scope of the study

The need for parking appeared with the democratization of the automobile in Europe and the United States, and the need to solve the first problems of urban congestion. The private parking market is a segment of the regulated parking market, i.e. involving the payment of a fee for a limited period of parking.

There are different types of parking lots:

• Private parking lots, managed by a person, a company or any other private organization
• Private parking lots for public use such as supermarket parking lots with free access
• Public parking lots, managed by the state and the Länder (roadside, underground and overhead parking lots)

Parking management is a highly profitable business, dominated by a handful of players. Two factors have profoundly changed the sector: the end of concessions for parking lots built between the 1960s and 1980s and the policies implemented in recent years that have largely reduced the number of on-street spaces.

Municipalities are the main demanders of parking facilities. They are increasingly turning to private parking operators .

The main German players are Apcoa, Contipark and Q-Park, which strongly dominate the market with parking lots in most German cities.