Scared of parallel parking? Watch BYD's 'Crab-Walk Mode' solve your problem

Often the butt of cruel jokes towards those that can’t, parallel parking can send some people into a cold sweat.

I’ve heard of people that have failed their K53 drivers test simply because they couldn’t get it right.

I’ve even driven with people who will drive around the block in an attempt to find alternative parking rather than having to squeeze in between two vehicles.

There’s something about the combination of tight spaces, precise maneuvering and the possibility of colliding with other cars or curbs that sends people into a tizz.

My father was a parallel parking master and he took great pride in showing us kids how and when to turn in one smooth movement.

I eventually mastered it and it gave me great satisfaction to do it in a fairly big, for the 80s at least, Peugeot station wagon.

Making it easier

Nowadays many new cars have a host of aids to make things easier.

There’s Park Distance Control, front and rear cameras, bird’s eye view cameras and advanced parking assist systems that guide you into a space where you only have to control the throttle gears and brake.

They can sometimes be a bit of a hit-and-miss affair but Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD has taken it to a whole new level with their Denza Z9 GT EV.

It’s called Crab-Walk Mode and uses an array of features that shrinks its turning radius significantly.

Denza was founded in 2010 as a joint venture between BYD Auto Industry and Daimler AG (now the Mercedes-Benz Group).

In 2021 Mercedes-Benz reduced its share to 10% following a restructuring and in December last year Merc transferred their remaining share to BYD, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese automaker.

How it works

It’s made possible thanks to the car’s three electric motors, one on the front axle and two on the rear that can all be controlled independently.

You point the nose into a parking spot, select a front wheel to pivot off, draw an outline of the car  on the touchscreen infotainment system and abracadabra, it slides into the space.

The rear wheels rotate independently so the inside rear wheel turns forward and the outside wheel goes in reverse. Using its rear wheel steering it then starts to move into the parking spot. 

The question of course is: is it really necessary?

Probably not but we think it’s a pretty cool feature.