The authors attempt to shed light on the emergence of spatial agglomerations and clusters in the relatively short history of the Polish post-communist automotive sector. Two main questions are addressed: (1) what types of agglomerations dominate in the Polish automotive industry? and (2) to what extent do the existing Polish geographical concentrations in the automotive industry resemble Porter's clusters? The evidence is based on the authors' database covering 955 plants involved in production

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... for the automotive industry. Three ideal types of agglomeration present at this stage of the development of the industry are: a TNC-led satellite platform, a hub-and-spoke district and a specialised cluster. The formation of Porter's clusters is only at its initial stage, and only one agglomeration may be regarded as a 'developing cluster' using Enright's typology. In general, the Polish case confirms that Porter-type cluster formation is a long evolutionary process. At present, the competitive advantages of Polish agglomerations include factor conditions, whereas the linkages, non-production competencies and institutional environment lag behind.