The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Selected Automotive Industry – a Case Study of Poland

The coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected the European economy. No one doubts in today’s commercial reality. One of the key industries that has obviously suffered from the effects of the economic crisis is the automotive industry. The COVID-19 situation is changing dynamically and, because that industry is increasingly internationalized, possible effects will certainly continue to result from the supply shock and be observed as a global demand shock. The aim of the research is to present current challenges which are being taken on to tackle the economic and social crisis, based on the example of the European automotive industry – a Poland case study. Therefore, the article presents only selected research results relating to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the particular segments of the industry. Specifically, an attempt was made to identify changes taking place in the sales and distribution systems for new cars and spare parts, as well as maintenance and repair services. The research study may contribute to the faster development of universal solutions in the field of addressing the crisis by means of identifying the areas which require adaptation to the new market rules. In addition, our presentation and interpretation of the results may be a basis and incentive to conduct further research on the topic related to the impact of the pandemic on the industry in terms of identifying further consequences for both the supply and the demand part of the industry.