Volkswagen offers parking assist in cars, but company confirms commercial vehicles miss out
By Gary Worrall | September 14, 2009
Volkswagen offers the latest in parking and reverse vision technologies in its passenger cars, but don’t expect to see them fitted to commercial vehicles.
Park Assist and the Optical Parking System, fitted in the German manufacturer’s Golf range, work to highlight suitable parking spaces to the driver. The system can also take take control of the steering, with the driver only required to operate the throttle, brake and clutch as required.
Although the Caddy commercial range shares many of its systems with the Golf, Australian Director of Commercial Vehicles Phil Clark says they’re not offered as factory options so Australian operators miss out.
Despite the current no-show from Germany, Clark says the Australian division will look at offering the technology to commercial buyers if it becomes available internationally.
With on-board computers handling the task of identifying and measuring potential parking spots, and then controlling the steering to park the vehicle, the system should also be able to be re-configured for the larger Transporter and Crafter models.
While these devices are often seen as ‘gimmicks’, the reality is in increasingly congested urban areas driver aids will become more prevalent as local governments restrict available parking spaces and operators are faced with a choice of risking a fine or worse by parking illegally.