Savills Report: Automotive industry to invest in logistics

The automotive parts and accessories segment whose value of production has exceeded that of the car manufacturing sector in the last seven years is clearly emerging as a market leader in Poland. Investments in logistics are being increasingly driven in this sector by its rapid growth, as revealed in the latest report produced by real estate advisory firm Savills. In addition, automotive firms have considerably increased their share of warehouse and industrial space take-up in the last three years. “The automotive industry is Poland’s second largest manufacturing sector while the warehouse and industrial property market is the country’s top commercial real estate sector posting the strongest growth in the last three years. The rapid expansion of the automotive industry and the fast growth of the logistics market are tightly knit together. The record performance of the warehouse market has been largely driven by e-commerce in addition to the automotive industry that has always been one of the cornerstones of Poland’s economy,” said Michał Śniadała, Associate Director, Industrial Agency, Savills. Structure of the automotive industry Nearly every tenth employee in the manufacturing industry works in the automotive sector, reveals real estate advisory firm Savills in its latest report Automotive: Analysis of the Warehouse and Industrial Market for the Automotive Sector. Report authors say that this sector comprises not only leading car manufacturers, but also a growing number of independent automotive parts and accessories producers. “In 2017, the number of passenger cars churned out in Poland nearly equalled the population of Poznań while the number of tyres manufactured for such vehicles was equivalent to the country’s entire adult population. This illustrates the proportions on this market which is being increasingly driven by suppliers of automotive parts and components delivered across Poland and overseas,” says Michał Śniadała, Savills. In 2006, motor vehicles accounted for nearly 60% of the automotive industry’s sold production compared to 40% generated by the automotive parts and accessories sector. These proportions reversed a decade later. According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, in 2016, Poland sold PLN 77 billion worth of automotive parts and PLN 54 billion worth of motor vehicles. The Polish Investment and Trade Agency’s data shows that Poland has approximately 900 automotive parts manufacturers employing nearly 150,000 people. The largest EU market for Poland-based manufacturers is Germany (a 42% share). In the last ten years, vehicles production rose at an average of 3% annually compared with the average annual growth of 11% posted by the automotive parts and accessories manufacturing sector. “Approximately 640,000 automotive parts are delivered daily to car garages and stores across Poland. A new car is made up of 80% of parts supplied by independent manufacturers, while the remaining 20% comes directly from car manufacturers. This market structure, given its growth dynamics, calls for an appropriate logistics base and continued investment in logistics facilities,” said Alfred Franke, President of the Association of Automotive Parts Distributors and Manufacturers (SDCM), partner of Savills report. Warehouse market outlook for the automotive industry “Approximately 75% of automotive parts manufacturers plan to invest in real estate in 2018 or 2019. Demand for warehouse space is expected to come not only from newcomers to Poland and tenants expanding, but also from firms moving to modern Class A warehouse buildings. This will be underpinned by the desire to implement new technologies, increasingly required to be able to compete on the automotive market that has always been at the forefront of innovation. Going forward, car and automotive parts manufacturers are also likely to benefit from new special economic zone regulations which, if effected, will apply to the whole territory of Poland and introduce exemptions for large employers,” said Michał Śniadała, Savills.