Peugeot's new iOn will "one day" be available in Poland Courtesy of Peugeot

There is no market or infrastructure for electric cars in Poland, industry players say with a shrug. There is no offer from car manufacturers, automotive experts reply.

And yet both sides seem to think that the future is – somewhat – electric.

French car manufacturer Peugeot is a good example. It had execs in Warsaw recently to present the iOn, a new fully electric car, which will be available in France by the end of the year.

“Then it will be launched progressively in Europe, and one day in Poland,” said Marc Bocqué, Peugeot’s head of global communication. He admitted, however, that individual sales in Poland are practically nonexistent.

“In the next six months, probably only a few dozen of these cars will be sold in Poland,” Stefano Casadio, president of Peugeot Polska, confirmed.

For the moment, we have no regulations, the offer is very limited and these cars are expensive, explained Wojciech Drzewiecki, head of automotive research institute Samar.

Even in Western Europe, electric cars still constitute a niche market and are heavily dependent upon government subsidies. For the moment, the Polish government offers no incentive for manufacturers or buyers. However, both manufacturers and experts agree that the potential exists to increase electric car sales in Poland.

“They are coming,” said Mr Drzewiecki.

According to Mr Cassadio, one of the main obstacles is the lack of infrastructure. “Warsaw is planning to put chargers in place, but for the moment we only have one in the whole city,” said Mr Drzewiecki.

However, Tadeusz Walasek, owner of an electric car and board member of the Green Stream Project, a coalition advocating the electric car as an important element in achieving energy independence for Poland, begged to differ.

“Electric cars work very well in Poland. I drive a Peugeot hybrid and I have no problem charging it at home. It works very well without any infrastructure,” he stated. “The constraints are psychological.”