New car sales in February down by a third year-on-year

New car sales in February were down by a third compared to the same period last year, with only 29,600 units sold in Poland last month. In total, the demand for new cars in the first two months of this year shrank by one-fourth as compared to the corresponding period last year. However, this year's crisis is affecting not only the market for economy vehicles, as was the case in 2000, but also the luxury car market. The sales of cars manufactured in Poland fell by 41% in February, continuing a recent trend that finds domestic-produced cars less and less popular. Nevertheless, the number of imported vehicles sold also declined last month, by 11%, compared to a 15% increase in January. Even the favorable exchange rate of the zloty to the euro has not helped importers. The crisis on the Polish car market seems to have no end, but is indeed intensifying. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p.22) M. S.-C.