Polish cars sales registered 534.683 sales in 2018, keeping the great pace of previous years, ending positively for the 6th consecutive year. Skoda Octavia is back in pole position, followed by the previous year’s winner, the Skoda Fabia.
Economic Environment
Poland’s economy continued defying expectations of an impending slowdown in the third quarter, matching the second quarter to record one of the best readings of the past decade. A breakdown by expenditure is still outstanding; that said, analysts have speculated that domestic demand again drove growth as it has done so over the past several quarters.
Household spending and fixed investment likely posted robust gains on lower unemployment and heavy EU-linked structural funding, respectively, and seem to have offset tepid external demand from the European Union.
A maturing business cycle is expected to muffle the growth rate over the next few years amid higher inflation and as gains in the labor market taper. As it stands, fixed investment should benefit from low interest rates and higher absorption of EU-linked funds. However, external-sector anxieties—especially over a broad slowdown across the EU and a further pullback in global trade—pose the key short-term risks.
Market Trend
Polish Vehicles market is characterized by a large used vehicles market and, unique in Europe, by a strong import of “fresh” used vehicles mainly arriving from Germany. However, in recent years, the research for lower emission vehicles and the increased income available for spending in mobility, have generated a strong demand for new cars boosting the market from 384.000 in the 20112 to a record of 430.000 in the 2016.
Then, according to data released by the local Association of Car Distributors, in the 2017 the market was one of the most positive in the entire Europe, hitting the new all time record with 489.190 new car passenger’s sales (+13.5%) and 62.621 light commercial vehicles (+5.1%).
In the 2018, the Car Passenger’s market kept growing. The steady growth of past years, have continued for the sixth time in a row, closing with 534.683 sales (+9.3%). The deadline of September 1st for introduction of WLTP emission standard, moved up and down the registrations data in single Q3 months. However, it is the first time the polish market reaches 600.000 annual units, including light commercials.
| Sales 2014 | Sales 2015 | Sales 2016 | Sales 2017 | Sales 2018 | '+/- 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326.843 | 354.806 | 425.667 | 489.190 | 534.683 | 9,3% |
Competitive Arena
Brand-wise, in 2018 Skoda is again the market leader, with 69.565 sales, improving 11.9% from the previous year.
In second place Toyota with 55.264 units (+8.7%) followed by Volkswagen with 54.032 (+10%), Opel with 32.672 (-9.4%), Ford with 29.945 (+1.6%), Dacia with 25.155 (+16.5%), Kia with 24.709 (+8%), Renault with 23.951 (-14.4%), Hyundai with 22.800 (+13.7%) and in 10th place by Mercedes with 19.254 (+12%).
At model wise, the number one is again the 2016 and 2017 leader, the Skoda Octavia with 21.125 sales (+12.5%) followed by the Skoda Fabia with 19.849 (+2.9%), and the Opel Astra with 15.282 (-3.6%).
Tables with sales figures
In the tables below we report sales for all Brands and top 10 Models.
