Paying for parking is getting harder by the day. Pay-and-display machines are often broken or gone. Now we must use one of many parking apps. These apps require sign-ups and too much personal information. All this is just to park for an hour. ParkPay may solve this issue.
BYD may have the answer for this. By allowing drivers to pay directly from their car rather than their phone. So BYD has teamed up with Parkopedia to introduce ParkPay, A new in-car payment service due to arrive in BYD cars in early 2027.
Here’s what it does and why it’s more useful than it sounds.
Paying for Parking is Getting Harder to Do
The move away from cash and pay-and-display machines is happening. More than 20 councils across England have already removed the machines and are now asking drivers to rely on an app instead. On top of this, eight London councils are getting ready to scrap all of theirs, with Wirral and Dover also looking to phase out pay-and-display by late 2026/early 2027.
The problem is that drivers never asked for this. Research reported by Autocar in 2024 found 83% of drivers preferred cash or contactless cards, with only 14% picking apps as their first choice.
So as a country, we are moving towards app-only parking while being totally happy with our old systems. Standing in the rain creating an account, typing in a registration, trying to remember a location code, then going back out to extend the session an hour later. That’s the bit ParkPay is aimed at.
What Will ParkPay Actually Do?
Rather than making you open an app, the car works out what’s happening. When BYD detects parking in a supported location, a notification appears on screen. It lets you know you can pay through ParkPay. Tap it, and the app opens with the right car park already selected, so starting a session takes a few clicks.
It also handles the two things phone parking apps are worst at. You get notifications when your session is running down and auto-stop so you’re not paying for time you didn’t use.
For coverage, BYD is using RingGo in the UK, which is a name you’ll already recognise from the signs in most car parks. That matters more than it sounds: an in-car payment system is only useful if it works where you park, alongside Parkopedia, which already supplies parking, charging, fuel and toll data across 90 countries.
What you get out of it: no phone, no signing up at the machine, no coming back to top up the meter. Just the car telling you where you are and asking if you want to pay.
Charging and tolls are next
Parking is the starting point. BYD and Parkopedia have confirmed plans to add public EV charging payments, tolls and parking reservations in a later update.
If you drive an EV, that’s the bit worth watching. Public charge points of 8kW and above must accept contactless payment since November 2024. That sounds like the problem is solved. But contactless usually gives you the walk-up price. It is often the most expensive way to charge. It also excludes member rates. And the gap is real: Zapmap’s May 2026 index put rapid and ultra-rapid charging at a weighted average of 79p per kWh, with the big networks spread from roughly 62p to 92p.
A car that knows your account and your tariff, and pays on your behalf, isn’t just saving you a bit of faff. It’s the difference between paying the walk-up rate and paying the rate you signed up for.
Why this matters if you’re buying a BYD
BYD recorded 37,995 new vehicle registrations in the first half of 2026. It remains the UK’s biggest new energy vehicle brand. This is up 95% from the same period last year. It also has an 8.74% share of the combined EV and plug-in hybrid market. It’s done that without its cars qualifying for the Electric Car Grant.
ParkPay fits that pattern. It’s not a headline feature you’d cross-shop on; it’s the kind of everyday irritation most manufacturers leave for someone else to solve.
As an approved BYD retailer, Stoneacre can talk you through the current range and what’s coming, including which models are set up for services like this. Browse the BYD range or book a test drive at your nearest Stoneacre BYD dealership.
