Fiat Auto Poland has reported on a very successful 2007 which saw it building 346,177 cars and vans, up 22.9 pct year-on-year, and meaning it accounted for more than half of all Polish production.

In 2007, Poland's car and van production reached a combined 869,536 units, rising by 21.6% from the year. This is the best figure achieved by the Polish automotive manufacturing industry over the last few years.

In December alone, Poland's vehicle output totalled 74,484 units, rising 31.5% year-over-year. At 761,920 units (+25.1%), passenger cars accounted for 87.6% of the 2007 supply, while vans made up the remaining 12.4% (107,616 [+1.2%]).

As the leading national carmaker, Fiat Auto Poland built 346,177 units last year (+22.9%), securing 50.75% of the overall car supply. At 71.4% of this total, the Panda was Fiat's most-produced car model in Poland, followed by the 500 supermini with almost 19%. This year production at Tychy will rise even further as Fiat increase the factory's capacity to cope with surging customer demand for the Car of the Year award winning 500, which is taking Europe by storm.

Ranked second overall, Opel Polska built 187,265 units last year (+0.2%), led by the Zafira MPV which accounted for 65.3% of its production. Warsaw-based FSO posted record production gains last year, supplying 153,310 units for a 201.5% jump. The company thrived because of robust demand for the Lanos which accounted for 98.1% of the supply, followed by Volkswagen Poznan with 75,133 units made last year (-17%). The share of locally-made cars delivered to Polish customers fell to 3.1% from 3.7% in 2007, with imports making up roughly 97%.

In the van market, the top player was Volkswagen Poznan with 91,903 units made in 2007 (+17.8%). The company enjoyed strong demand for both the Caddy and the Transporter, rising by 16.6% and 24.1%, respectively. Ranked second in the list, Fiat Auto Poland built 15,640 Panda and Seicento (600) vans at the Tychy plant, down 41.3% from the year. This retreat though can be accounted for due the capacity demand placed by arrival of the 500 as well as higher specification versions of the Panda. Meanwhile, in 2007, Lublin-based Intrall produced 73 vans. The share of locally-made vans delivered to Polish customers fell to 5.1% from 7.3% in 2006, with imports making up 94.9% (2006: 92.7%).

Report: Samar