The Automotive Market in Poland

The Eurotax company has presented the recent data on automotive market in Poland. Which cars lose their value the quickest way and which are worth importing from abroad? What has changed after Poland's access to the European Union?

There are 16 million cars in Poland, and the number includes 11 million of passenger cars. Almost 60% of all passenger cars are the vehicles of the smallest swept capacity included in the registry that is up to 1400 cm3. There are only 4.1 % of cars of swept capacity exceeding 2000cm3. A very interesting is the data on the average age of cars in Poland. Only 23% of them are less than five years old. And 54% are older than 10 years. This fact should be considered while discussing the speeding restrictions on our Polish roads.

More drivers prefer purchasing second-hand cars; the most wanted are vehicles not older than 7 years, and with the price between 20 and 40 thousand PLN. Last year the administrative restrictions on second hand cars import were implemented: high excise for cars older than 2 years was introduced, as well as an obligation of certificate for meeting the requirements of EU fumes exhaust norm Euro II for vehicles for the first time registered in Poland.

As a result, due to substantial stop on second-hand cars import, an interest in second hand cars purchased in Poland increased. Authorized car dealers, that slowly take over the role of second-hand shops, notice deficiency of second-hand cars. Due to the fact that the demand is bigger than the supply, second-hand prices increased at about 10-15%. Interest in cars exploited by the companies has also increased. Yet a couple of years ago, such cars had quite negative opinion, but at the moment customers seem to appreciate the fact that such vehicles come from a secure source and they were serviced in authorized garages.

The prices of second –hand cars in Poland do not differ much from the prices noted in European Union countries. Similar situation is on brand new cars market, although it is slightly more complex: cheaper cars in Poland are usually worse fitted and cheaper than in EU while luxurious cars are a little bit more expensive.

The vehicles themselves are not the main problem of the Polish drivers; Poland still has a poor road network; and the quality of the existing roads is very often insufficient. At present, a lot of donations from the European Union go into constructing of a new road infrastructure in Poland; new motorways are being built and the surface layer of the already existing is being replaced. That includes some road constructions such as fly-overs, tunnels, by-passes etc.

The big problem is the price of petrol: just recently it exceeded 4.50 PLN per liter of 95 unleaded petrol, which, in comparison to income of Poles, does make a difference in our pockets. The price of petrol equals more or less that of the Western Europe while our salaries are far from comparable with those of our western neighbors. The problem of cars is mainly the problem of Polish big cities. Many people still commute by car instead of taking public transport; cities centers are crowded, traffic jams are inevitable as well as air pollution; unfortunately subway system exists only in Warsaw and the need for development of public transport more efficient network is truly an urgent one. If more people used this method of communication, maybe the everlasting problem of overcrowded roads and lack of parking places in the centre would diminish.

Anja

I've always been surprised why Poles are so interested to buy used cars...

Are there any online car buying sites, especially for classic cars, in Poland?