Goodyear envisages that the 2004 tire market will grow by at least 3%

According to the estimates of Goodyear, the investor in domestic tire producer Dębica, Poles will buy 7.1 million new tires in 2004, which will signify a 3% growth as compared to the previous year. The value of tires sold is growing faster than their numbers, but the structure of the Polish market is still very different from Western Europe. "It seems that the market is moving towards EU standards. However, none of the EU members has recorded such a rapid growth as the one currently observed in Poland," said Dębica sales director Jacek Pryczek. According to the authors of the report, the increasing demand is in large part due to the rising number of vehicles in the country. "Over the recent years there was a growing number of cheap brands which are competing with used tires. I believe that car owners will choose new tires," said Pryczek. (Parkiet, p. 4) M.M.