Mobility Up High

Parking Space Concept for Urban Agglomerations Mobility Up High

2026-02-11 From Gunthart Mau * | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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Due to the high density of private vehicles, there is a high demand for space from parked cars. This is a particular problem in large cities. Parking towers offer a space-saving solution. The Munich-based company VePa Vertical Parking has developed an automated paternoster parking system for this purpose with the support of SEW-Eurodrive.

Parking towers can be a space-saving solution, as the Munich-based company VePa Vertical Parking shows. The start-up has implemented an automated paternoster parking system in Munich's Werksviertel district.(Image: SEW-Eurodrive) — Parking towers can be a space-saving solution, as the Munich-based company VePa Vertical Parking shows. The start-up has implemented an automated paternoster parking system in Munich's Werksviertel district.
(Image: SEW-Eurodrive)

VePa Vertical Parking has set itself the goal of making cities more liveable. To this end, the Munich-based start-up wants to create parking facilities in small spaces and thus reduce environmentally harmful soil sealing. Vertical parking systems have already been in operation for some time in densely populated Asia. The two VePa founders, David Schön and Simon Schubnell, were inspired to develop similar solutions for Germany.

Great Benefits, Small Footprint

Vertical parking systems can be a forward-looking solution for using urban spaces more efficiently. VePa has developed parking towers with an automated paternoster parking system as a sustainable solution to the urban parking space problem. Eight, ten or twelve parking spaces are created on 530 square feet, which would otherwise accommodate three to four vehicles—in the future, even 16 are possible. This high space efficiency enables cities to unseal valuable areas elsewhere. The parking towers also create added value for new buildings and redensification projects: in future, project developers will be able to dispense with costly underground parking garages and thus plan more economically and sustainably. The first prototype parking tower with eight parking spaces was put into operation in Freising, Upper Bavaria, not far from Munich Airport, in the fall of 2023. The construction company Adldinger is the operator of this parking tower. After two years of successful testing with a closed group of people, the first public parking tower was opened in Munich's Werksviertel district, near the Ostbahnhof station, in 2025. It offers space for twelve vehicles the size of an SUV.

Werksviertel-Mitte wants to be a place worth living and loving for future generations. That is why this urban quarter in the east of Munich was designed with a special focus on sustainability.(Image: SEW-Eurodrive) — Werksviertel-Mitte wants to be a place worth living and loving for future generations. That is why this urban quarter in the east of Munich was designed with a special focus on sustainability.
(Image: SEW-Eurodrive)

Charging Via App

The parking spaces are each equipped with a wallbox for charging electric vehicles. Charging takes place via ChargePoint, a modular software platform for electric mobility service providers and charging station operators. It enables operators to manage and monitor their charging stations and users to easily charge their electric vehicles.

Type 2 plugs, which have been standard in the EU since 2013, fit into the wallboxes in the parking garage. The maximum charging capacity in the tower in Munich is 11 kW.(Image: SEW-Eurodrive) — Type 2 plugs, which have been standard in the EU since 2013, fit into the wallboxes in the parking garage. The maximum charging capacity in the tower in Munich is 11 kW.
(Image: SEW-Eurodrive)

Entrance to the Park Tower

The use of the public VePa parking towers is intended for short-term parkers. Automatic license plate recognition takes place. To enter the tower, the roller shutter opens and a free platform is provided on which the vehicle can be parked. The parking process and security-related information must then be acknowledged outside the building.

Payment And Exit

Anyone wishing to collect their car has to wait on average less than a minute in front of the closed gate until the vehicle is available again. The control system is programmed so that the car is always transported down the shortest route. To park, you pay at the parking machine by card or online via an app. You can then request the car at the terminal, enter the tower through the pedestrian door and end the battery charging process if required. You then drive the car out.

Reliable Drive Technology

In addition to the construction and real estate companies and parking garage operators involved, SEW-Eurodrive is another driving force behind this project, quite literally: a 30 kW KAF157 DRN200 bevel geared motor drives the platforms. It ensures the powerful and precise rotation of the platforms in both directions via a drive chain. The motor is powered and controlled by a Movidrive System MDX91A frequency inverter from the Movi-C modular automation system. The drive technology is also dimensioned together with SEW-Eurodrive for new projects—with extended requirements. Leonard Stenger, Manager Urban Projects at VePa: "We are delighted to have found a strong partner for our innovation in SEW-Eurodrive."

A four-pole DRN200 three-phase motor in energy efficiency class IE3 with KAF157 helical bevel gearbox drives the paternoster in the parking tower. It ensures the powerful and precise rotation of the platforms in both directions.(Image: SEW-Eurodrive) — A four-pole DRN200 three-phase motor in energy efficiency class IE3 with KAF157 helical bevel gearbox drives the paternoster in the parking tower. It ensures the powerful and precise rotation of the platforms in both directions.
(Image: SEW-Eurodrive)

Outlook: Urban Mobility

The next project is already in the starting blocks: The next VePa tower is being built in Berlin (Germany) as a public parking and charging hub. Co-founder Simon Schubnell is already thinking ahead: "Step by step, we want to become one of the leading operators of urban parking and charging hubs in Germany—and throughout Europe." Thanks to the modular design, a multifunctional expansion of the parking solution is also possible, for example through the integration of shared or micro-mobility services, such as car sharing or e-bike rental. (se)

Gunthart Mau is a trade press officer at SEW-Eurodrive in Bruchsal, Germany.

The Chinese company iMotion wants to reduce the stress of parking. With the help of a highly automated function, vehicles should be able to park themselves in less than 30 seconds. This is where the R-Car-V4H SoC from Renesas comes into play. (Image:iMotiom)

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