The work analyses the national annual emission of pollutants from passenger cars in Poland, in the years 2000–2015, including the classification of combustion engines relative to the ignition system. The study was carried out in accordance with the methodology used in the COPERT 4 software. The vehicle traffic model was analysed under the following conditions: urban, rural and on motorways and expressways. The national annual pollutant emission was found to change substantially alongside the changes in vehicle properties over the period analysed; the effect varied due to the performance of respective substances. The relative annual national emission of the various pollutants compared to the situation in 2000 were determined. There was a clear declining trend, from 2008 onwards, in the relative annual emission of pollutants from a representative passenger car; this was valid for all substances.