Electromobility in Poland must accelerate

The automotive sector is very important to the national economy. In recent years, Poland has attracted a lot of foreign investment in the automotive manufacturing sector, becoming one of the major manufacturers of cars, car parts and components in Central and Eastern Europe. According to the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association), almost 215,000 direct manufacturing jobs are provided by the automotive sector in Poland. And this figure puts Poland in 3rd place in the European Union. The Volkswagen Group, the largest car manufacturer in Europe, has located as many as 9 plants in Poland and, in this respect, Poland ranks 3rd worldwide behind Germany and China.

But the automotive industry is changing. The proposal of the European Commission, “Fit for 55”, assumes that after 2035 only zero-emission vehicles will be sold in the European Union. This will entail huge changes in both sales and production. These changes are taking place rapidly and unfortunately, in this area, Poland is falling behind Western Europe. In the third quarter of 2021, the market share of electrically-chargeable cars expanded in the EU at the expense of petrol and diesel vehicles. Both battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids nearly doubled their share during this three-month period - accounting for 9.8% and 9.1% of the market, respectively. For the first time ever more cars with plugs (BEV and PHEV) were registered in the European Union than cars with a diesel engine. For comparison, the market share of electric is ca. 1% and plug-in hybrids ca. 2% in Poland. Undoubtedly, the purchasing power of consumers in many European countries is greater than in Poland. But this is only part of the explanation. Six times more new cars and 60(!) times more new electric cars are sold in Germany. This also results from differences in taxation, the subsidy system and infrastructure development.