Panasonic to Begin Producing Refrigerators in India in March

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation today announced it will start in March the production of refrigerators designed for the Indian market at its newly built plant in Panasonic Technopark in Jhajjar in the north Indian state of Haryana.

As India, with a population of 1.3 billion, is undergoing dramatic economic growth, its household appliances market in particular is expected to continue growing at a fast pace. The government is encouraging companies to locate manufacturing facilities in the country under Prime Minister Narenda Modi's "Make in India" initiative.

Panasonic considers India, along with China and Southeast Asia, as a strategic market for its household appliances business, proactively investing resources and reinforcing corporate structure in the fast-growing Asian nation. With this refrigerator plant, the company has expanded its local production portfolio for the appliances business in India that already includes small kitchen appliances and televisions, as well as air-conditioners and washing machines that have been made in Panasonic Technopark since 2013. The new plant enables the company to bring to Indian consumers products tailored to their needs in a timely fashion.

Panasonic's first Indian-made refrigerators will have a capacity of 300 liters to 350 liters, the range expected to grow in popularity, with energy-efficient inverter technology. The appliances use Panasonic's unique ECONAVI technology that delivers greater energy efficiency by optimizing cooling operation automatically according to the user's lifestyle and an Ag Clean Filter that ensures the interior of the fridge is always clean.

These refrigerators are designed with India's lifestyle and culinary culture in mind, featuring,for example, a Big Door Pocket inside to hold many a variety of spices for Indian cooks and a Fresh Safe Vegetable Case that can keep large quantities of vegetables fresh. They also have a cool space large enough to hold a milk pot - considering the habit of keeping milk in the pot in the refrigerator after it's boiled at home in India, a major consumer of milk in the world.

The well-designed fridges feature a lustrous full-flat door and a display panel for monitoring ECONAVI operation.

Going forward, Panasonic will continue to expand its home appliances business in the fast growing Indian market by taking advantage of its lifestyle research unit and research and development functions there to offer attractive products to Indian consumers in a speedy manner.

Refrigerator Plant Outline