ABSTRACT
The Polish automotive sector became a target for foreign investment in the 1990s. Early investors were attracted by the domestic market, but later massive investments were mostly export-oriented. This has made Poland an important and sometimes leading European manufacturer of various products. The country is now Europe’s second-largest exporter of automotive components after Germany. The extensive and diversified supplier sector consists of many lead firms from various countries and a large number of smaller domestic producers. The latter generally play a secondary role, although there is a narrow group of companies with strong design capabilities, some of which have begun to expand internationally. There is a trend towards more complex products and technological modernisation. This is accompanied by a gradual but selective development of R&D functions, particularly among some Tier-1 suppliers. However, the scope of non-production competences of foreign affiliates is less extensive than their production capacities in Poland.
