The Volvo V40 is among the safest cars, but in Poland, over 90 percent of vehicles are at risk
Transparency note: This press release was originally published in Polish. The text has been machine translated. You can find the original press release here.
In Poland's car fleet of over 23 million used cars, models considered the safest due to their design appear very rarely, with an average age of 12 years. As many as 65% of these vehicles were imported, which translates into their poor condition – according to CARFAX data, over 80% of them are affected by various risks and irregularities. The structure of the Polish secondary market means that even models with high safety ratings arrive mainly as older and heavily used vehicles.
According to rankings from the European New Car Assessment Programme, an independent organization that evaluates vehicle safety, the safest passenger car models include the Volvo XC90, Volvo S90/V90, Volvo V40, Tesla Model 3 and Alfa Romeo Giulietta . These models are not widely represented in the Polish market – together, they constitute 0.6% of the cars in the CARFAX database of over 23 million used cars in Poland – a company that provides users with used car history reports from reliable and certified sources. The average age of the models in question is 12 years, and 65% were imported to Poland from abroad . The percentage of units affected by various risky events and factors (such as damage, accidents, or unusual odometer readings) is 82%.
"The structure of the Polish used car market has been based on imports for years, but these imports are selective, focusing on popular models that are easy to sell and maintain. Therefore, we observe a low representation of more expensive models, which are also less present in Western markets. Those units that do appear on our used car market are usually older and have been used intensively, as clearly confirmed by CARFAX data, " says Robert Lewandowski, Business Development Manager at CARFAX Polska ." As a result, even models considered among the safest in terms of design can pose practical challenges for Polish buyers. The Polish automotive aftermarket prioritizes availability and price, not necessarily safety or good technical condition. This trend will persist as long as the supply gap between the Polish and Western markets remains significant, and imports remain the primary source of premium cars."
Imported cars dominate among the models analyzed – and risky ones.
Nearly half of the five models analyzed in the CARFAX database are Volvo V40s . A full 83% of them were imported to Poland . Their average age is 16 years, and 94% have a history of various risks that could pose potential problems for buyers.
In the case of the other analyzed models, it looks as follows:
Volvo XC90 : 27%; average age – 12 years, percentage of units at risk – 81%; more than half are imported;
Alfa Romeo Giulietta : 12%; average age – 11 years, percentage of units at risk – 63%; 61% are imported;
Volvo S90/V90 : 10%; average age – 6 years, percentage of units at risk – 76%; 40% are imported; here it is also worth noting the very high percentage of post-accident vehicles – as much as 50%;
Tesla Model 3 : 5%; average age – 3 years, 41% of the risk is covered.