Overview
Poland is the third-largest manufacturer in Central and Eastern Europe (after the Czech Republic and Slovakia). It is the regional leader in the manufacturing of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) as well as heavy trucks, buses and coaches.
The automotive sector, which includes both manufacturing and trade/repair, accounts for 12% of Poland's GDP (calculated according to 2012 data). There are around 150,000 people working in the automotive manufacturing industry and another 400,000 employed in automotive trade and services.
Car park
Poland's car park totalled 18.7 million vehicles in 2012, but according to the country's economy ministry the actual number of cars in use may be two million less than that. On average, Polish car owners use their vehicles for around 14 years before replacing them. Car ownership in Poland is around 450 per 1,000 people, which is below the EU average.
The number of used cars entering the Polish market is twice as high as the number of new cars. Almost 712,000 used passenger cars were imported in Poland in 2013, up from 657,000 in the previous year.
Exports
A total of 75% of the automotive sector's sales are coming from exports. In 2012, the value of the exports dropped by 5% on the year to EUR 20.5 billion.
The key export markets are: Germany (with over 30% of total exports), Italy (10%), the United Kingdom (9%), France (6%) and the Czech Republic (5%).