Despite the economic downturn sweeping the worldwide auto sector, new car sales in Poland have held up, helping the country outperform its neighbours. Consumer spending has not fallen sharply, and auto exports have gotten a boost from the weakening of the zloty against the euro, as well as from auto scrappage schemes across the EU. According to Samar, new car sales in Poland reached 264,898 units in the 10 months through October 2009. This represents a slight 0.6% improvement over the same period in 2008, but is still impressive considering the headwinds facing the global auto sector.Scrappage plans across Europe have largely run their course, which is likely to remove a key driver of sales momentum. In particular, demand from Germany, whose junk car scheme ran out of funds in September 2009, is likely to be reduced going forward. Demand for exports is also likely to ease as the zloty has recouped some of its losses against the euro and is expected to keep strengthening in 2010.
However, robust domestic sales are expected to help offset reduced demand from overseas buyers.
Posts
