The parking industry need to keep its eye on new car sales. After all, once folks buy a car, they need to park it somewhere. So what do the prognostication wizards say about what will happen in 2018. There’s a short article in Forbes Magazine that gives us some idea. You can read it here.
To summarize. Sales may be down slightly in the US and Western Europe, but will skyrocket in Russia, Eastern Europe, India, China and Japan. Does this mean we should open overseas offices tomorrow? It may not be a bad idea.
But before you buy your $151 fare on Norwegian Air Lines, consider what is really happening in the US. We will be purchasing over 17 million cars in 2018. Maybe down a percentage point from 2017, but still a goodly number. The economy appear to be booming, and that means that folks will have more disposable income, and those new cars really look great. Give the old Belchfire 12 to the kids and pick up a hot little number from Detroit, Stuttgart or Tokyo for yourself. Why not?
My buddy Dale Denda talks about planning for the future. He posits that these numbers are real and will continue to be. We should be planning, he says, for infrastructure development, parking facilities, and technology advancement to handle the existing numbers, and the increase to come. After all, cars are lasting longer, and just because someone buys a new car, it doesn’t’ mean the old one goes away. Take a look at your neighbor’s driveway if you don’t believe me.
We humans are a resilient lot. We look at problems and then find solutions. Technology can only go so far. Once we have on board parking finding systems, we need to have places for them to find. A little outside the box thinking might be in order. Those closed garages supporting banks or offices that are closed at night might be perfect for people going to the area for dinner or entertainment.
What about shuttle services handling the ‘last mile’ issues, and enticing drivers to park a few blocks away from their final destination? Pricing might be a good enticement, with these less convenient lots being considerably cheaper than the spot next door.
Of course, for the long haul, perhaps a peek across the pond would be in order. India, Japan, Eastern Europe, Russia and China might use the expertise we have built over the past half century of parking cars here in the US.
Something to think about
JVH
