PARKIE was born from a market request that still today has not found exhaustive answers; those who own an electric vehicle such as a scooter or e-bike often give up traveling to go to certain places because they don’t know where to park it and don’t know where be able to recharge it to have enough autonomy, to be able to go to work or to the desired place or even just to be able to return home. PARKIE is the answer to this latent market demand.
Parkie was initially created to produce only racks/stations for parking and charging scooters, subsequently and within a short time it also added racks for parking and charging e-bikes to the price list, which have fully entered the industry of light micro-mobility. Subsequently, Parkie also developed a series of projects closely linked to micro-mobility, which are very advanced both in terms of originality and proposed technology.
Easy Engineering: What’s the news about new products?
The system proposed by Parkie includes a charging station where the vehicle is blocked thanks to a chain and an intelligent padlock that can be opened with the APP via smartphone, both forming part of the rack, the system is not rigid but is particularly flexible, it allows the possibility of parking vehicles of particular shapes and/or sizes, scooters with double battery on the column, e-bikes with front rack, hoverboard, e-skateboard. The main characteristics of Parkie racks/stations can be summarized as follows:
- Charger inside the rack: this is a factor that already differentiates Parkie from several other manufacturers competitors, allow the user not to carry the battery chargers with them
- Universality of the connections: thanks to the customized chargers, all the main models can be satisfied scooters and e-bikes on the market, not all competitors offer this possibility
- Numerous fire safety devices: in this Parkie seems to be the only one to have implemented, in addition to grounding, a number of other devices that made the racks reach a high level of fire safety (electrical panel with circuit breaker + axial fan for internal cooling in case of high temperatures operated by 3 different sensors + Various devices to avoid condensation at night, the entry of insects, break-ins)
- Bluetooth/Wi-Fi connection > Access monitoring > Reservations > Payment > Partnerships. Thanks to Smart Padlocks you can get many advantageous benefits to begin with from not having to carry a personal padlock to lock the vehicle, there are very few competitors who provide a similar service
- Evening/night lighting: 2 powerful LEDs are activated in the evening/night hours to illuminate the reception area parking/charging activities, thanks to a timer connected to the electrical panel or to a twilight sensor, only one competitor offers a similar service
- Helmet hook: in all Parkie racks there are hooks for hanging your helmet, it is a Parkie exclusive (in alternative ther’s the HelmetHub by Parkie)
- Customizations (colors/logos): the customer can always choose the color and graphics to affix to the racks If desired, you can also wrap them, not all offer this possibility
- Outdoor: Parkie racks can be completely outdoors without a protective shelter, although it is nevertheless advisable
- Remote parking reservation: again thanks to smart locks it is possible to book parking remotely parking in such a way as to ensure it, it seems that there are no other competitors offering a similar service
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
Parkie mainly creates parking stations and charging with technical and technological characteristics and safety with high innovative content, but has also developed specific projects for Hotels, for Public Administrations and Large Companies Dimensions and which have a great impact on the market:
- Parkie & go: the turnkey rental for hotels
- Helmethub: the locker for helmets
- Parkie 10×1: the platform that replaces 1 car for 10 smart vehicles
- Parkie ledwall: led monitor for information and advertising
- Parkie sharing: revolutionary sharing system
- Parkie digital: internal company mobility
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
The market is ready to welcome the parking and charging solutions offered by Parkie, the market will certainly expand in the coming years, but in Europe in general we see that the attention for micro-mobility is increasingly greater. By carrying out an in-depth market analysis, many categories of possible customers were identified:
- COMPANIES: OFFICES AND PRODUCTION
- SHOPPING CENTERS
- HOSPITALS/CLINICS/AUSL
- SPORTS/WELLNESS/GYMS CENTRES
- CONDOMINIUMS
- SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY CENTERS
- PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS
- RESTAURANTS/PLACES IN GENERAL
- BANKING/INSURANCE INSTITUTIONS
- EXHIBITIONS
- AIRPORTS
- MARINE PORTS
- RAILWAY/COACH STATIONS
- HOTELS/CONFERENCE CENTERS
- CINEMA/MULTI-SCALE
- BATHING FACILITIES
- CAMPING
- STUDENTS
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
We think we have introduced services to the market that are still unique, the charging stations have countless features that make us unique in the market, and the specific projects we mentioned before are original and could have a great impact on the market.
Parkie 10×1 is a platform the size of a car park that replaces the car park itself, instead of the car you can park and recharge 5 scooters and 5 e-bikes; the Municipalities could install it both to encourage micro-mobility and to increase the economic revenue deriving from movements because, in fact, it is as if 10 parking meters were installed in place of one.
The HelMetHub is the innovative helmet locker; In Italy it will probably become compulsory to wear helmets in order to ride an electric scooter, it will be a big problem for the Sharing Companies and the Municipalities on how to manage the issue, they will be obliged to insert a system that will be able to give the user of scooters (and e-bikes?) the possibility of having a helmet to be able to travel. Since the solution currently envisaged by the major operators is objectively of little value (helmets attached to the scooter column, therefore exposed to the rain/snow/sun and without the possibility of sanitizing after use), the system offered by Parkie could absolutely become much more interesting thanks to the its completeness of offer.
Parkie & Go: hotels are in a phase of strengthening their structures, several have already become Bike Hotels precisely to be able to provide a new additional service to their customers, in some cases this type of service even becomes a driving force for the business; with the Parkie & Go project this need is fully satisfied as everything has been studied to avoid causing disturbance to the normal management activities of the Reception and to try to give order and rigor to this type of activity without having to leave them to chance . The offer is rental with redemption after 4 years, all supplies are included: charging stations, vehicles (scooters and/or e-bikes, helmets, chains, assistance). Without charging stations the customer (Hotel) does not have an orderly system of service management, nor even a certified one, Parkie offers a unique package that cannot be found elsewhere.
But the most ambitious project of all is Parkie Sharing, we are (almost) ready to propose a revolutionary system to the Public Administrations, based on the distribution of charging parking stations throughout the territory, dedicated both to private citizens who have purchased smart vehicles and to those who use the sharing service. Parkie staff will go around the streets to ensure that the vehicles are stored correctly, thus avoiding having them messed up on the streets, on the sidewalks, or thrown on the ground.
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2023?
2024 is the crucial year for the development of Parkie, we are looking for a Venture Capital capable of supporting the development of all projects, we are aware that these can take hold both in Italy and throughout Europe, if not even in the USA, UAE. In the meantime, we try to consolidate the first sales that have already occurred, always paying attention to market developments.