Preface
Japanese electrical brand Panasonic sales in the Chinese market is very good, you must know that although Panasonic is a Japanese brand, but in addition to the top model of air conditioners, the remaining ninety percent of air conditioners are produced in Guangzhou, China, and even in Guangzhou has been produced for nearly 20 years.
On average, Panasonic compressors produced in China every year, that is, the most important part of air conditioners, can produce tens of millions of units a year, of course, Panasonic's production base is not only in Guangzhou, China, but also in Japan and Malaysia.
However, just last year, Panasonic announced that it would move all the production lines in Guangzhou back to Japan, and Panasonic's share in the mainland market reached 40%.
compressor
With the rapid development of society, people's pursuit of quality of life is also getting higher and higher, from the beginning of the hot weather, people turn on fans or use fans, to now almost door-to-door installation of air conditioners.
When buying an air conditioner, many brands are different, and what you look at is nothing more than the compressor in the air conditioner to see the quality and service life of the compressor.
Japan's Panasonic brand was established in the early 19th century, and with their own compressor technology, they sold extremely well all over the world, making the indoor temperature lower or higher in a short period of time, thanks to Panasonic's temperature control technology.
At the beginning of the last century, China's R&D methods were not advanced, and foreign brands were in a monopoly position, Panasonic was one of them, and at that time, homes like radios, washing machines, and air conditioners were basically Panasonic brands.
In addition, China's purchasing power is very strong, many foreign-funded enterprises are eyeing China's fat, and the mainland was once invited by Panasonic to Japan, seeing the gap between China and Japan's research and development, and the two sides initially reached a willingness to cooperate.
However, if China and Japan want to cooperate, they must have a joint venture, providing a total of technology and providing production sites, while Panasonic is Japan providing technology and providing compressor research and development process, etc., and Guangzhou, China has set up a production line for production.
The close cooperation between the two sides lasted for nearly 20 years, and the Panasonic brand once dominated the field of Chinese electrical appliances, but with the research and development of many Chinese brands such as Midea and Gree, Panasonic did not seem to be so popular.
In 2023, Japan suddenly announced that it would cancel the Guangzhou production line and move it back to Japan, and complete it before 2024, so what is the main reason for them to move back to Japan?
Reason for moving back
In fact, careful research found that the production of air conditioning compressor is not so complicated, the main role of the compressor in the air conditioner is to regulate the temperature, to put it simply, after absorbing the hot air, it is processed into refrigerant through the compressor, and then transported to the hot place.
More than 20 parts such as refrigeration oil, suction pipe, and exhaust pipe in the whole compressor cooperate with each other to convert the liquid into gas and disperse it in the air to achieve the effect of cooling and heating.
The gap between the compressor and the compressor is that, first, the noise is not big, otherwise it will be found that some cheap air conditioners will be particularly noisy, and the second speed is not high, some air conditioners are noisy, the speed is slow, noisy and not refrigerated.
The reason why Panasonic is so famous is because it has a very high speed and very little noise, and at the beginning of the last century, New China has not been completely liberated, and more people are running around for life, and few can devote themselves to scientific research for a long time.
But as life gets better and better, more and more people go to research, such as Gree, as one of the few domestic enterprises in the mainland, Gree's compressor, now the production environment can reach a maximum of 54 degrees, and a minimum of 30 degrees.
And the noise is not too big, now just open a shopping platform to find the air conditioner, the general sales list is the first is Gree, as a domestic brand who is not willing to support it? Even if it can't catch up with the level of Panasonic, but Gree's development is not bad.
In addition, like Midea also occupies half of the country, he is a joint venture, but Midea announced the success of the autonomy of central air conditioning in 2019, and there are also people like Haier, Oaks, and Xiaomi also produce air conditioners, and the cost performance is also good.
It may be that Japan is scared when they see the rise of air conditioners in China, afraid that no one will buy Panasonic in the future, or it may be because of the tension between the two countries, and last year they decided to move all the production lines back in Guangzhou.
After all, if Panasonic's electrical appliances can't be sold, and they still have to use mainland workers and mainland sites, then these are huge expenses for them, and if they don't sell well, they can only lose money.
Moving back to Japan is not necessarily a bad thing, for mainland companies, it can make their R&D more motivated, domestic brands still need to work hard, but there will be no bottlenecks, China will only develop better and better, not backwards.
There are always some countries that feel that without them, we can't turn around, just like the United States feels that without their chips, we can't live, so doesn't Huawei also develop its own chips?
Therefore, living in this society should never feel how important you are, any person can replace anything, any thing can replace another thing, China's strong population base, purchasing power is beyond doubt.
But we don't buy everything, first of all, we have to buy patriotic, and secondly, we have to buy good quality, we will never forget the heinous crimes committed by the Japanese, and we are not qualified to forgive our predecessors.
Instead of wasting time in China, Panasonic should hurry back to research and develop a better one, and the market will see.
Primary sources
Japan's Sankei Shimbun "Panasonic Shifts Production of Mid-range and Above Air Conditioners from China" 2023.6.22
China State Grid "2023 China Home Appliance Technology Conference: Scientific and Technological Innovation Empowers High-quality Development" 2023.5.19
Zhuhai Gree official website, "44 "International Leading" Technologies, 2005-2023