Japanese auto producers step up offensive in Poland

Japanese car producers want to strengthen their position on Poland's market. In the first half of the year they had a market share in excess of 18%. Toyota is ranked third among the best-selling new cars. Suzuki holds the nineteenth spot in the ranking. "During the next three or four years we hope to increase annual sales of new vehicles to 6,000-7,000," said Harumichi Uto, president of Suzuki Motor Poland. Last year, Suzuki sold 3,064 cars, which translated into a market share of 1%. Dealer outlets were reduced from 36 to 24 due to new agreements eliminating dealers with minimal customer attendance. Suzuki has plans to eventually build a new headquarters, but they will not locate their factory here as they have already established their production center in Hungary. (Puls Biznesu, p. 6) D.W.