Interview with Easypark boss: "People still want their own car"

Congested: Many cities suffer from massive car traffic. Easypark boss Cameron Clayton wants to help – without bans

Photo: Chris Melzer/ dpa

Do cars still belong in city centres? No, say not only climate activists of the "last generation". Also, for example, the Mayor of Paris and the Mayor of London, are making it increasingly difficult for drivers in their metropolises. That should be a problem for Cameron Clayton. The head of the Easypark Group arranges parking spaces for motorists via app. No more cars in the cities would mean no more business.

But the American expects the opposite. Clayton invested, most recently took over Parknow, one of the failed mobility projects of Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Through several acquisitions in recent years, Easypark is now active in over 20 countries and more than 3200 cities and employs more than 1000 people. In an interview, Clayton explains why he controls his business better than German car manufacturers and why Germany is one of the most important growth markets for Easypark, despite all the protests against the car.

manager magazin: Mr. Clayton, before your time as head of Easypark, you helped to develop "weather.com" into one of the most visited websites in the world. Isn't the weather much more exciting than arranging parking spaces?

Cameron Clayton: The mission is always decisive. Those who create real added value will be successful. It is very valuable to predict the weather to people. But it is also a great task to make cities more livable. More and more people are flocking to cities, metropolises are becoming megacities. As a result, traffic is also increasing, with all its challenges. We want to help address these issues.

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"Very car-centric": Germany is one of the most important growth markets for Easypark boss Cameron Clayton

Photograph:

Karl Gabor

You arrange parking spaces, your business lives on many cars. Why should you, of all people, make cities more livable?

Up to 30 percent of the traffic volume in cities is accounted for by the search for a parking space. More than a tenth of the total traffic in cities could be avoided through smart parking space management.

There is a simpler solution: car-free cities.

This is a theoretical discussion. Even though many people talk about car bans, people behave differently. Cars will continue to be sold. There will also be more rather than fewer vehicles on the road in cities. People still want their own car. If they can't find parking spaces, it's bad for the environment. We want to help solve the problem.

In Germany, climate activists glue themselves to roads, and the car is an enemy image for them. How does that fit in with your thesis?

Germany is the largest European car market and is very car-centric overall. We are investing heavily there and have hired more than 20 new employees in Germany this year alone. We still see a lot of potential there. Parking space is not used intelligently at all in many cities.

And the protests?

We take them very seriously. But even in Germany, we can't see that cars are losing importance. On the contrary, we are growing faster there than in most other markets.

They acquired Parknow in 2021. How has it been for you since then with the former parking app from Mercedes-Benz and BMW?

ParkNow users didn't have to change anything after the takeover. The app is now even easier to use and the coverage is even better. And it was also a great deal for us, because Germany is one of our most important growth markets.

How many Parknow employees have you taken on?

When it comes to takeovers, there are always changes in the team. It's always about synergies. We already had a lot of skills that are also important for ParkNow.

What does that mean in numbers?

In total, about 60 percent of ParkNow's former employees are still on board. For many, the change of ownership has opened up new opportunities, and some have been able to take on positions of global responsibility. And many of the colleagues who are no longer part of our group have found jobs with partners of ours.

Back to the controversial topic of cars in cities: What happens to your business model when municipalities regulate car traffic more strictly?

We help them. With our data, cities can plan their space much better. It's not just about parking. Municipalities could also better manage micromobility with our help. Again, we want to make cities more livable.

Above all, you want to make money. If you arrange a parking space via app, you will receive cent amounts for it. Doesn't really sound lucrative.

Our turnover has recently grown strongly, from 161 million euros to 252 million euros last year alone. We have gained many new customers, and the integration of ParkNow has also helped. But we are much more than a parking app. Our business is a software business. We serve different target groups: We are best known for arranging parking spaces. But we also support fleet operators in better managing their fleets. And we market our data. With our help, cities can also find the zones where it is better not to park.

Which business yields the most?

Business with end customers is certainly the largest, but not the most profitable. We have the best margins in the fleet business.

A key question for a start-up: do you make money?

Yes, we are profitable, doubling our operating profit last year to 48 million euros.

More and more car manufacturers are experimenting with automated parking. Does this threaten your business?

I think that's great. We want to make parking as easy as possible, and technology can help us do that. Incidentally, we are working with the automotive industry on the parking of the future. In the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric, the Easypark app is an integral part of the infotainment system.

How many people are currently using your parking apps?

About 45 million. We have set ourselves the goal of 150 million users.

That would be a threefold increase. How and how quickly do you want to achieve this?

We have bought 22 companies in the last ten years. Now we need to scale the business. Grow without accumulating further costs. We have not set a fixed date for the EUR 150 million. But we want to do it as quickly as possible.