A SATURATED market for used cars in Poland has pushed the used values of three to four-year-old cars down by more than 10% over the past year.

Used cars flooded the market after trade barriers with the EU were removed last May and this contributed to the fact that new car sales in the country last year were down.

On residual values, Maciej Szczepaniak, editor-in-chief of Polish fleet magazine Flota, said at the Fleet News Europe Conference, in Brussels: 'It is difficult to predict what the drop will be in the future.'

He added that this situation makes it increasingly difficult for leasing companies to set their monthly rates.

Among fleets in the country, the most popular choices are: Ford Focus, second-generation Opel Astra, Ford Mondeo, Renault Megane and Skoda Fabia.

Szczepaniak said the full service leasing market was growing on average by up to 3% every month and that about 40,000 vehicles are leased in the country.

The country's biggest full service leasing players include Arval PHH Poland, DaimlerChrysler Services Fleet Management, Prime Car Management, Transport SA and LeasePlan Fleet Management (Poland).

Szczepaniak said there were opportunities for companies in areas of cross-border leasing, software and servicing and added that currently there was no professional company carrying out remarketing services in the country.

He added: 'It could be they buy old fleet cars in Poland and sell them in other countries where residual values are much higher.'