THOUGH still relatively small in new motorcycle registration terms, the motorcycle market in Poland is an interesting one - especially in terms of parts and accessories.
Chosen by Polaris for their first European manufacturing facility, Poland has been a leading choice for motorcycle parts and accessory manufacturing for a long time.
Mostly out-source manufacturing for western European brands, the past 10 years has seen a growth in the number of Polish parts makers now selling to importers and distributors in the rest of Europe, and a growth in the number of domestic Polish importers and distributors representing leading European brands there.
Well placed to sell to other emerging northern, eastern and central European markets, all sectors of powersports activity have seen evolution there - the country even has a small but thriving custom bike scene with some Polish builders winning prizes at custom bike shows in Western Europe in recent years.
Speedway racing and the off-road/dirt-bike markets have always been a staple there, but as infrastructure has improved, so too has the street and performance bike market.
Pre-owned motorcycles imported to Poland (from Germany in particular) are a huge part of the market there (which is very good news for the parts and accessory sector), and according to the latest data released by the motorcycle industry trade association in Poland (PZPM), new and first time registered used motorcycles grew strongly in the first six months of 2015.
Nearly 50,000 new and used motorcycles were registered in Poland in the period January to June, which is up by over 63 percent over the first half of 2014, and by far the highest number since before 2010 - the cut-off point for PZPM data.
Of those 13,825 were new units (as opposed to first time registered used machines), which is a massive 184 percent increase on the number of new motorcycles registered in Poland in the first six months of 2014 - nearly 28 percent of all motorcycle registrations.
In addition, some 15,913 new mopeds are reported as registered in Poland during the first half of the year, although that is down by over 31 percent from 2014; with an additional 22,801 used mopeds registered there for the first time (-26.41 percent).
In total Poland was worth over 72,000 new and used PTWs in the first half of 2015 (over 68 percent of them were new or first time registered used motorcycles), a figure that is up by nearly 18 percent over the first half of 2014 and the highest seen since 2012.
www.pzpm.org.pl
