As cities gradually reopen and public places like malls, restaurants, cinema halls and theatres resume operations, Parviom Technologies, that owns Park+, is betting big.
A year old start-up that allows users to park their vehicles at pre-booked slots using app-based digital parking is looking at downloads to jump from the current 150,000 to 350,000 over by December, Amit Lakhotia, founder and CEO, said.
It is also plans to go live in Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad by the fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal. It currently has a presence in Delhi NCR (National Capital Region), Mumbai and Bengaluru.
“As employees start showing up at workplaces gradually in their personal vehicles and footfall increases at public places, it’s growing to be increasingly difficult to find parking space,” said Lakhotia, adding that the contactless, touch less way has made digital parking very popular among the users and he sees the demand growing at a brisk pace in the coming months.
One cannot continue to create parking infrastructure endlessly when the existing one is underutilised. The app, he points out, helps vehicle owners locate the slots without hassle and allows optimal utilisation.
“Finding a parking space is time-consuming. The same space that is occupied during the daytime, may be available at night. And the space that is available in the weekday, might not be available on weekends, and vice versa, " he added.
Park+ isn't the only one in the automated parking system space, which is still in a fledgling stage. It competes with Get My Parking, ParkingRhino among others.
The start-ups in the space, including the one founded by Lakhotia, are encouraged by the sharp, sequential and year-on- year increase seen in sales of cars and two-wheelers since the last three months. Car sales in India have been advancing since June.
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Cumulative sales of top 9 passenger vehicle makers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Kia Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, among others, grew 35 per cent in September to 2,75,137 units over the corresponding period last year. As manufactures continue to re-stock their sales channels ahead of the festive season in October and November, sales are expected to gain further buoyancy. Auto firms in India report dispatches to dealers as sales.
Park+ charges a commission from the owner of the parking space and service charges from those availing the services. The app allows the users to discover a parking space.
Having worked with several successful internet start-ups including Paytm, Makemyowntrip, the idea of starting his own struck Lakhotia as he saw people struggling to find parking while he was at Paytm. It culminated in Park+ in September 2019.
Last November, it raised $11 million funding from marquee venture capital firms including, Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners.
The funding round also witnessed participation from MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra and cofounder Rajesh Magow; BookMyShow founder and CEO Ashish Hemrajani; CRED founder Kunal Shah; Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal among others.
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