Panasonic "Ups the Ante" in the Chinese Market, Leveraging Technological Innovation to Foster a Better Life

Panasonic "Ups the Ante" in the Chinese Market, Leveraging Technological Innovation to Foster a Better LifeOn November 6, 2024, the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai as scheduled. As a "regular" participant in the CIIE, Panasonic hosted a strategic press conference the day after the expo's opening, themed "Panasonic Roots in Chinese Innovation, Contributing to a Better Life for Chinese Society," showcasing its new goals, products, and technologies in the Chinese market

Panasonic "Ups the Ante" in the Chinese Market, Leveraging Technological Innovation to Foster a Better Life

On November 6, 2024, the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) was held in Shanghai as scheduled. As a "regular" participant in the CIIE, Panasonic hosted a strategic press conference the day after the expo's opening, themed "Panasonic Roots in Chinese Innovation, Contributing to a Better Life for Chinese Society," showcasing its new goals, products, and technologies in the Chinese market.

Tetsuro Honma, Global Vice President of Panasonic Corporation and General Representative of the Northeast Asia Group, announced at the press conference that Panasonic is actively responding to the Chinese government's call for developing new-quality productivity, committed to using technological innovation to drive improvements in Chinese society and the lives of Chinese consumers. He specifically announced that Panasonic's WellnessSmart (WS) business plan aims to achieve a growth target of 382% year-on-year in fiscal year 2025.

Since entering the Chinese market in 1979, Panasonic's business has been closely intertwined with China's economic and social development. Currently, Panasonic has 64 legal entities in the Northeast Asia region, with a workforce of 50,000, including nearly 10,000 research and development personnel. Panasonic focuses on three pillar businesses in the Chinese market: healthy and smart living spaces, mobile travel, and intelligent manufacturing, aiming to address China's social challenges, contribute to high-quality economic development, and achieve carbon neutrality goals.

Healthy Smart Living Spaces: Building "WellnessSmart Living"

In the healthy smart living space business, Panasonic leverages its over 20 years of experience in building sustainable smart cities (SST) in Japan to introduce the "WS business" for the Chinese market, aiming to "extend the healthy lifespan of Chinese people and contribute to the Earth's environment." The business comprises two parts:

• WST (WellnessSmartTown) business: Utilizing a B2B business model to collaborate with real estate developers, offering integrated solutions encompassing space planning, products, and services.

• WSH (WellnessSmartHouse) business: Targeting the renovation and decoration market, providing Panasonic's unique one-stop living space proposals and renovation experiences.

Panasonic plans to expand its flagship living space stores from the current 19 to 50 by 2025. Panasonic's WS business is expected to achieve a year-on-year growth of 159% in fiscal year 2024 compared to fiscal year 2023. With the implementation of the Chinese government's comprehensive policy package for new incremental volume, the Chinese real estate industry is expected to stabilize and rebound. Consequently, Panasonic has set a target of achieving a 382% year-on-year growth in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024, with a cumulative order volume of approximately 14,000 units.

Panasonic's in-depth research on Chinese users provides the foundation for this ambitious goal. In 2021, Panasonic established the world's first healthy living space laboratory - the "Well Habitat Laboratory" - in Beijing. This laboratory not only collaborates on industry-academia partnerships with partners in the healthy building field, as well as with universities and hospitals in Beijing, but also invites volunteers to reside there to verify the effectiveness of the technology. Experimental results indicate that the "Healthy Space System" optimizes lighting, curtain opening and closing, air temperature, and humidity, resulting in a 19.2% increase in deep sleep time compared to environments without the system.

At this strategic press conference, Panasonic also unveiled the latest results from the habitat laboratory for the first time globally. By comprehensively controlling space lighting, temperature, and fresh air, it was demonstrated that the focus of children doing homework increased by an average of 23%, and the focus of adults working from home increased by 21.5%.

Home Appliance Business: Enhancing Space Value and Quality Value

In the home appliance business segment, Panasonic continues to enhance space value and quality value. Its kitchen suite systems, the "Yunjing Series" and "Lingjing Series," achieve the integration of home appliances and storage. The new generation of Alpha laundry series, developed in collaboration with Porsche, has captured a 15% market share in the high-end market with prices exceeding 10,000 yuan since its launch in 2017.

Mobile Travel Business: Reinforcing Solutions in the Electric Vehicle Sector

In the mobile travel business, Panasonic has strengthened its capabilities in components and solutions for areas like autonomous driving, electrification, and intelligent cockpits, responding to the rapid development of the Chinese electric vehicle market. At this CIIE, Panasonic showcased for the first time the on-board electric compressor, a key component of the electric vehicle air conditioning system, developed and manufactured in Guangzhou. This product utilizes lightweight materials and a compact design, not only enhancing the driving experience but also improving the energy efficiency of the entire vehicle.

Intelligent Manufacturing Business: Promoting Sustainable Manufacturing

In the intelligent manufacturing business, Panasonic has introduced a range of solutions supporting sustainable manufacturing operations.

• Energy Sector: Following the launch of the 5kW pure hydrogen fuel cell in 2021, Panasonic this year introduced the PH3 product, a pure hydrogen fuel cell with a power output of 10kW and a lifespan of up to 100,000 hours.

• Hardware: Panasonic has increasingly developed and manufactured products locally in China, including high-speed, high-precision servo motor products, intelligent welding robots, and chip mounters. Panasonic has also transferred its cutting-edge Blu-ray data storage system business to the Chinese market, establishing research and development and manufacturing facilities for large-capacity Blu-ray storage systems in Dalian.

• Software: Panasonic integrates intelligent manufacturing technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI), providing comprehensive services to monitor the production process, optimize resource allocation, reduce waste, and improve production efficiency.

Rooted in China, Innovating for the Future

Tetsuro Honma stated, "In the process of comprehensively promoting 'new-quality productivity' development in China, Panasonic will continue to focus on technological innovation rooted in China, contributing to the high-quality development of the Chinese economy and the well-being of the Chinese people."

The CIIE is not only a stage for companies to showcase their strengths but also a window for China to maintain high-level opening up to the outside world and build a new development paradigm. Through its continuous participation in the CIIE for seven consecutive years, Panasonic has demonstrated its contributions in the fields of "living spaces" and "environment," supporting a better life for Chinese society. In the future, Panasonic will continue to ride the "new" wind of the CIIE, charting new landscapes in the Chinese market.

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