The development of car parks is gaining increasingly strategic importance in the real estate sector. While the obligation to build parking spaces is being reduced in some regions, the demands on their functionality are rising considerably. From 1 January 2027, one charging point per ten parking spaces will be mandatory in existing buildings, instead of just a single charging point. Jakob Bodenmüller, CEO and co-founder of Wemolo, a leading provider of car park management, states that the existing area is being assigned more tasks without physically expanding. Efficient management requires precise knowledge of the availability of parking spaces. Wemolo manages over 4,500 car parks with approximately 370,000 parking spaces across Europe and records 2.5 million parking transactions daily.
The developments discussed at Expo Real underscore the transformation of car parks into a central planning and management task. Germany recorded a historic high of 49.5 million registered passenger cars as of 1 January 2026, an increase of over 20 percent since 2008 (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, 2026). At the same time, inner-city street parking competes with new uses such as cycle paths, delivery zones, and recreational areas. A representative survey by IFH Cologne (2026) shows that 93 percent of respondents consider good accessibility essential for city centre visits. Furthermore, 87 percent of regular car users accept fewer on-street parking spaces if functional alternatives exist, and 73 percent advocate for relocation to compact car park structures.
Transformation of Car Park Management
The parking pressure is thus shifting to off-street areas in retail, office buildings, and commercial properties. For owners and retailers, this means that it is not the quantity of space, but its intelligent organisation, that determines the attractiveness of a location. Parking spaces must be available during peak hours and accessible for alternative use during off-peak hours. The trend towards barrier-free parking, widely used in Norway, is also gaining increasing acceptance in German-speaking countries. A survey by Riverty (2024) among 5,750 motorists in seven European countries revealed that in Norway, three out of four motorists encounter barrier-free areas, while in Germany, it is one in three. 65 percent of German respondents would like this model. As a result, more and more locations are converting to camera-based license plate recognition, eliminating barriers, ticket machines, and their maintenance, and for the first time generating reliable data on space utilisation.
The multiple use of car parks is evolving from pilot projects to established business models. What was trialled in 2025 at individual retail locations will be rolled out regionally and across branch networks in 2026. Since November 2025, ALDI SÜD has offered parking spaces for booking via Wemolo at over 20 locations, at rates of five euros per night or 50 euros per month. Netto Marken-Discount rents out vacant parking spaces at approximately 150 branches outside opening hours. Politicians are also showing interest in these models, as they open up parking space on private land without requiring their own construction or financing obligations. Hamburg's transport authority expanded a pilot project to REWE and PENNY supermarkets; in Potsdam, the opening of supermarket car parks is being examined, and a corresponding council motion has been submitted in Munich. Office car parks, such as at Business Campus Garching, also open in the evenings and on weekends for external visitors.
Data-Driven Management and New Revenue Streams
This development goes beyond mere resident parking and establishes time-dependent usage models: customers park for free while shopping, longer stays are charged, and free time slots are allocated to residents, commuters, or event visitors. This allows owners to generate income from existing spaces without additional land sealing. Dominic Winkler, Head of Sales and Business Development Real Estate at Wemolo, emphasises that the opening of car parks only occurs based on precise data to ensure availability for customers during peak hours. The camera systems at entrances, originally installed to control unauthorised parking, have evolved into valuable data sources. They provide information on occupancy, dwell times, and frequency patterns. The choice of the right operational partner, as CBRE notes in its Market Outlook 2026, is crucial for integrating car parks as a steering element in property management. Based on this data, Wemolo, in collaboration with portfolio holders and property managers, developed 360° space monitoring, which also detects and reports damage or soiling in outdoor areas.
