Is Poland the New Auto Electronics Mecca?
by Bridget McCrea
Historically dominated by Germany, the European auto electronics market has shifted in the last few years, with Poland running a close second on the manufacturing front. In Poland Emerging as European Hub for Automotive Electronics, Nitin Dahad discusses some of the new innovations being produced by Polish companies.
In 2018, for example, automotive components supplier ZF opened a new facility in Poland, where it is focused on advanced safety electronics for vehicles.
“At CES, ZF revealed that its ProAI technology and control box, developed in conjunction with Nvidia, has progressed from concept to a production-ready system,” Dahad writes. “Poland is increasingly becoming both an automotive and electronics hub, and could easily be the second largest automotive hub in Europe after Germany.”
Growth Trajectory
On track to reach $401.67 billion in sales by the end of 2023—up from $173.06 billion in 2016—the global auto electronics market is growing at a 12.8% clip (CAGR), according to Orbis Research, with the key market drivers being technological advancements in the electronics industry.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), for example, are dominating the market thanks to the “government mandatory deployment terms coupled with growing acceptance of active safety systems in vehicles,” Orbis reports, noting that the Asia Pacific market is expected to dominate the trend in the forthcoming years due to vehicle customization, superior product quality, and low cost.
“Moreover,” the research firm continues, “North America and Europe are proliferating demand for customer comfort and safety which is driving market in [those areas].”
Activity Ramps Up
The Polish Investment and Trade Agency reports that out of 40 car and engine plants located in Central Eastern Europe (CEE), 16 are based in the country. With vehicles, parts, and accessories sales, this accounted for about 11 percent of the country’s total exports in 2013. Almost 80 percent of Polish automotive exports is directed to the EU markets, Dahad notes, “with major OEMs there including VW, GM, Nissan, Fiat, and Scania.”
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