Source: "Panasonic Shifts Production of Air Conditioners above Mid-range from China" - Sankei Shimbun 2023-6-22
"Panasonic Air Conditioner's offline share is only 0.27%, and Japanese brands are collectively marginalized" - Nail Technology Network2022-08-04
Preface
Summer is approaching and the temperature is soaring, and for ordinary people, the most important way to enjoy the cool is to turn on the air conditioner, which can be said to have become an indispensable electrical appliance in the family of contemporary people.
China's huge market has attracted countless public and foreign companies, but Panasonic, a Japanese electrical appliance company with a high global influence, announced last year that it would withdraw its high-end air-conditioning compressor production line from Guangzhou......
Now that it has been a year since the Japanese air-conditioning compressor withdrew from the Chinese market, has the Chinese manufacturing found a replacement?
The self-confidence of an established company
Founded in 1918, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is a multinational electrical appliance manufacturer in Japan.
This veteran electrical appliance company has a decisive influence in the world and has been ranked among the world's top 500 companies for many years.
It is not difficult to see that the strength of Panasonic is indeed stable and active, and Panasonic's cooperation with China began in 1978.
At that time, after Comrade Deng Xiaoping's visit to Matsushita, the company began to invest in China.
In 1987, Panasonic established a joint venture in Beijing and officially entered the Chinese market, which was the first batch of enterprises introduced by the reform and opening up.
Under China's active reform and opening up and economic construction, Panasonic invested and built factories in China.
Just by establishing sole proprietorships and joint ventures, we have invested nearly 1.5 billion US dollars in technology introduction!
With the development of China's economy, Panasonic's cooperation with China is also getting deeper and deeper.
In 1994, Matsushita Electric Industry Co., Ltd. of Japan founded Matsushita Electric (China) Co., Ltd. together with Huayingsheng Electric Development Co., Ltd. in Beijing, China.
The joint venture will provide talent, labor and market from China, and Japan will provide technology, sales network and integrated service system.
In this way, Panasonic gradually opened up the market in China and became a partner of many home appliance companies.
Among them, the best product sold by Panasonic is the air conditioning compressor.
In 1995, Panasonic compressors successfully sold 300,000 units, and in 2007, Panasonic compressor sales soared to 9 million units!
Panasonic compressor has always maintained a high competitiveness in the Chinese market, because it has its own confidence.
Because Panasonic compressors minimize energy consumption, very little energy is consumed.
And whether it is heavy rain, hail or other extreme weather, it can run smoothly and safely.
In addition, there is a more important reason, that is, Panasonic compressors also have the advantage of low noise.
So it makes a lower sound during operation and doesn't make annoying noises when we sleep.
These advantages make Panasonic compressors widely used in China, and have obtained extremely high profits and a huge market.
But what people didn't expect was that in 2023, Panasonic announced that it would move out of the household air conditioning production line in Guangzhou by 2024......
So why did Panasonic suddenly make such a decision?
The rise of China's electrical appliances
To put it simply, there is one reason why Panasonic suddenly withdrew from the Chinese market: the pressure is high.
Previously, due to the blank of China's domestic high-end electrical appliances, Panasonic Electric was invincible in China, and no company could replace it.
The Chinese market is almost shrouded in the monopoly of Panasonic.
In the seventies of the last century, the market share of Panasonic and Panasonic compressors in China was as high as 70%!
At that time, almost all the electrical appliances used by every household were related to Panasonic, and Panasonic Electric became the memory of a generation.
However, with the development of China's science and technology, China's domestic high-end electrical appliances have gradually sprung up.
Gree, Midea, Oaks...... China's electrical appliances counterattacked the development, like a tiger quickly devoured China's electrical appliance market, breaking the monopoly of domestic Panasonic Electric.
Not only that, China's domestic electrical appliances are actively going abroad, affirmed by consumers in the world market, and gaining a firm foothold in the global market at the fastest speed.
Now Nissan's domestic market share has dropped to 5%, on the other hand, domestic products such as Gree and Midea have become the trusted choice of every household!
Therefore, the choice of Japan's Matsushita Electric to withdraw from the Chinese market is the best choice for itself to reduce transportation costs and improve sales efficiency.
Made in Japan used to be the quality assurance in the hearts of the Chinese people, and we even needed to go to the Japanese market to buy toilet seats......
Therefore, this has set off a wave of discussion about the quality of Japanese products.
But now, domestic products are the king of cost performance in the hearts of the people, which is not only cheap and affordable, but also the embodiment of high quality and high quality.
Everyone is at ease, with comfort, supporting domestic products has become the choice of every household.
Panasonic's withdrawal from the Chinese market seems to be a last resort......
So in the face of Panasonic's withdrawal, have we filled the vacancy in China's domestic electrical appliances?
Can China Electric take on this important role?
The answer is yes, after all, in terms of market share, we have confirmed it.
Panasonic also has its own shortcomings, such as the price, the price of Panasonic is unbearable for ordinary families.
With the improvement of the consumption level of Chinese, household appliances such as air conditioners are no longer exclusive to the rich, but also can meet the needs of low-end consumers and well-off families.
At this time, consumers generally choose domestic electrical appliances.
Regardless of whether Panasonic withdraws or stays, it will basically not affect the sales of high-end electrical products in the mainland, and China's domestic electrical appliances still have a high vitality.
However, there are still areas for improvement in China's domestic electrical appliances.
For example, many "domestically produced" enterprises are not entirely domestic, and some state-owned enterprises are actually joint ventures jointly established with foreign capital.
This means that these companies also have certain risks when facing the opposition of the national interests of both sides.
In addition, Japanese compressors have a certain degree of influence on domestic electrical appliances.
Many domestic air conditioners still use foreign compressors, and they do not really achieve independent production.
Moreover, in the context of the economic downturn, consumers have higher and higher requirements for the quality of goods.
Many consumers also complain about the noise level of domestic compressors.
In this regard, domestic electrical companies should have the spirit of not breaking or standing, and intensify scientific and technological research and development, and strive to walk in the forefront of the world!
epilogue
In the face of the crisis of "stuck neck" of electrical appliances, we should understand that in today's globalization of production, we cannot let key technologies fall into the hands of people, but also strengthen independent research and development, science and technology to rejuvenate the country.
At the same time, the rise of Made in China is accelerating, and it has gradually become the best choice for consumers around the world.
This is the pride of Made in China, and it is the gospel of our Chinese consumers!
Source: "Panasonic Shifts Production of Air Conditioners above Mid-range from China" - Sankei Shimbun 2023-6-22
"Panasonic Air Conditioner's offline share is only 0.27%, and Japanese brands are collectively marginalized" - Nail Technology Network2022-08-04