Valeo’s Park4U system has received awards from PACE and Allianz 2008 Genius Safety. These awards recognise innovations already on the road contributing to a safer automotive environment; Park4U does so by preventing damage when parking reducing the number and severity of road accidents. This significantly reduces repair costs for drivers and insurance companies. In Germany, for example, one out of three damage claims to car insurers comes from failed parking maneuvers.
Park4U’s operation is simple: after accurately evaluating the available parking space, the system automatically steers the car into the parking slot in a matter of seconds. The driver remains in control by operating the accelerator and brakes during the manœuvre.
Park4U is increasingly widely commercialised. By 2010, sixteen models will be equipped. Currently it is available on Volkswagen’s Touran, Cross Touran, Tiguan and Passat. The next cars featuring the system will be the Volkswagen Passat Coupé and the new Skoda Superb.
The award judges found Park4U “an inexpensive, easy-to- use, automated parking system that leverages technologies already in many vehicles.”
