The Automotive Market in Poland presented to you by EasyExport

The Automotive Market in Poland presented to you by EasyExport

With a population of nearly 40 mil, Poland is the largest automotive market in Eastern and Central Europe with a GDP per capita of barely over 10,000 USD in 2007 and growth rates between 5% and 6%, while average wages are about 700 EUR or 950 USD.  Poland is a prosperous market force in Eastern and Central Europe.
Poland’s new, used, and salvage car penetration is much lower than in most Western European markets, as well as some Eastern and Central European markets like Bulgaria, which is in a better position as far as new, used, and salvage car penetration is concerned.  As far as countries with car parc, Poland is leading the Eastern and Central European countries, although the car parc is relatively old.

Since 2004, when Poland became a member of the EU, the Polish automotive market has been flooded with imports, used, and salvaged cars.  The imports are expected to reach almost 1 mil. By 2007, mainly because they are older; therefore, they are the cheaper vehicle choice.

During this development, the new car market was less than 5% of sales during 1999, but since 2007 the new car market has made a rebound with predictions of about 7% until the year 2010.  Therefore, Poland’s car market will remain the biggest of the Eastern and Central European countries, and third largest when all former communist countries are added together, with the exception of Russia and Ukraine, which have surpassed Poland, while imports of used cars will most likely decrease over the next few years.

Dealerships have coped with reduced sales on new cars and have earned a second income through the trade of used and salvage cars , although there is still room for growth of OEM’s network of dealerships.  Car financing is available readily with loan financing being the preferred method by consumers, and leased financing by corporate purchasers.  Financing used and salvaged vehicles is also readily available and supports a short holding cycle for Polish car owners.

While Poland has no passenger car model, FSO was the last independent model, but it is now owned by ZAZ, a Ukrainian car manufacturer who uses FSO as the production base for the Ukrainian marketplace.  FSO manufactures Daewoo-based automobiles, apart from FSO Fiat, VW, and Open which are produced in Poland, while other OEM’s are manufacturing specialty engine components, as well as other components for the Polish automotive market.  These OEM’s use Poland because of its low-cost manufacturing base in the European market, although they rarely produce for their own Polish market.  The production of these cars is likely to exceed 1 mil units by 2010, even with some OEM considering expansion of current projects and new projects in Poland with wage increases in recent years and limited qualified personnel becoming a serious issue and limitation to future growth of this industry.

With the development of future production projects, the component market is expected to grow 14% annually until the year 2010, which is mainly due to existing suppliers in the OEM.   With this growth also comes growth in the aftermarket at a rate of 5% by the year 2010.  The aftermarket, car service and spare parts, is the most sought after sectors in the Polish automotive industries, with further addition from the parc, whose average age is declining with more demanding consumers who require more frequent service and better parts.

Today there are numerous parts manufacturers in Poland, but only a few are still in Polish hands, as with the OEMs who are targeting export markets and do not cater to the local aftermarket. Poland’s distribution system for spare parts is supplied by 10 large importers and distributors, although there are many smaller ones as well.  It is possible that further consolidation will reduce the players in the market for new, used, and salvage cars service and spare part shops, as well as to the end consumer.

Both the automotive market and the aftermarket are attractive in Poland.  For active companies, internationally, a strong base in Poland is a must.  The main OEM challenge in Poland is competition through used and salvage car markets.  Financing options that are convenient, plus a progressive selling network with wide coverage are the key to success.  The main parts manufacturers’ challenge is to locate and manage the sales channels so they reach the targeted consumer.

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