Changing Geographical Patterns of Automotive Industry in Poland

The paper aims at identifying the main trends in the spatial patterns of automotive industry in Poland and their underlying changes. The analysis includes the distribution of employment in the sector by regions (voivodeships) in 1998 and 2015 on the basis of the Central Statistical Office data, as well as the location of greenfield plants built in the country since 1991 using the authors’ database. It is shown that after the general stability of the spatial pattern of production in the first transformation phase of the 1990s, a major shift towards south-western and western Poland together with the decline of the historically dominant region of Warsaw took place later. This can be explained by the success and/or decline of some leading producers and trends in the location of new plants dependent on the proximity to foreign markets, good road accessibility and industrial traditions (labour skills) in the main. These tendencies are in congruence with the general changes in the spatial pattern of Polish industry as a whole, with the growing role of Wielkopolskie and Dolnośląskie voivodeships and the decreasing share of Mazowieckie in the national industrial employment. The rapid expansion of automotive industry in Upper Silesian Industrial District has contributed to its successful restructuring.