When in 1886 Carl Benz patented his three-wheeled vehicle with an internal combustion engine and electric ignition, few could have expected that his invention in the following decades would drastically and, it seems, irreversibly change the way mankind organises transportation, builds cities or wages wars.
Probably just as few people at that moment saw that the foundations were being laid for a completely new industrial sector, which in the second decade of the 21st century would provide employment for millions of people around the world. In less than 150 years, the automotive industry has become one of the most valuable components of the global economy, responsible not only for the huge value of sales, but, above all, for the powerful contribution to innovation and social issues, due to the level of employment generated.
Just as the automotive industry changed the world, today, the world is changing the automotive. Advancing climate change is forcing the switch to electric power, the development of artificial intelligence is blocking the way for autonomous vehicles, flexible forms of financing, combined with the new approach of developed societies to property, enable consumer leasing and carsharing. Then there is COVID-19 and the completely unpredictable changes that a pandemic can bring in terms of, for example, public transport. All this is crucial for companies
operating in the automotive sector – it determines future sales levels, directs investment activities, models new products.
In this report, we take a closer look at these trends. We do it through the prism of the Polish automotive industry, but we also take a closer look at Pomerania, where, contrary to all appearances, a lot is already happening in terms of the development of the sector, and with the development of new trends even more can happen. A significant part of our publication is devoted to foreign direct investments, as they are the driving force of the Polish automotive industry.
You can find the report here.
