Poland AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Poland’s automotive industry is one of the most important manufacturing sectors in Poland, accounting for 11.1 % the total value of the country’s production, and is second only to the food industry.  In recent years Poland has attracted a substantial amount of foreign direct investment in the automotive manufacturing sector and, consequently, has become one of Central and Eastern Europe’s major manufacturing hubs for cars, car parts and components. Automotive manufacturing has evolved into one of Poland’s key industries in terms of production value, employment, capital expenditures and exports. Poland is the region’s largest automotive market in terms of sales and services.

Unlike developed countries, the number of cars per capita is increasing in Poland. Most of the Polish families own one, two or even three cars, and in 2019, almost a million of passenger cars were sold. The majority of cars on the road in Poland are more than 10 years old, which provides a constant demand for automotive parts and services. The Polish market service market is competitive, and similar to vehicle sales, a driving factor for Polish consumers is value and quality of products and services.

Poland, like other European countries, is trying to meet global green mobility trends, electromobility and car-sharing platforms. The Polish government adopted an Act on electromobility and alternative fuels and is waiting for final EU approval. Poland has a target of creating 6000 charging stations by the end of 2020 and support 1 million electric cars on Polish roads by 2025.  Poland has a lot of room for growth in electromobility, and the Polish car-sharing market is in its infancy.  Poland’s car sharing market provides substantial room for growth and is currently serviced by 8 companies that constantly increase their vehicle fleets and their range of operations.  In January 2020, the Polish government enacted regulations  supporting the construction of e-car charging stations and allowed or subsidy payments of up to 30%, with a 18,750 PLN maximum limit, for the purchase of electric cars by companies. 

At the end of February 2020, 9803 electric cars were registered in Poland, according to the latest Electromobility Meter, a counter updated by the Polish Alternative Fuels Association (PSPA) and Polish Association of Automotive Industry (PZPM).

For the first two months of 2020, the number of all-electric and plug-in hybrid car registrations amounted to 1,166 units an increase of 181% compared to the corresponding period of 2019, the latest edition published on March 23, states.  At the end of February 2020, as many as 58% of Poland’s electric passenger cars, were fully electric vehicles (BEV), while the remaining 42% were plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV).

Of Poland’s 1,093 vehicle charging stations, 30% were fast DC charging stations and 70% were free AC chargers with power less than or equal to 22 kW. At least 44 new stations were created in February 2020.

For more information about the Automotive and for updates, please contact Commercial Specialist Jolanta Mojsa - Jolanta.mojsa@trade.gov or U.S. Commercial Service Poland office.warsaw@trade.gov.