Panasonic Launches Brand Campaign along with Sasol Solar Challenge in South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa - Panasonic held a new brand campaign, "Follow Panasonic with Siya Kolisi", in conjunction with its sponsorship of the Tokai University Solar Car Team competing in the Sasol Solar Challenge 2018, South Africa. Panasonic supplies the team with its high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and high-efficiency HIT solar modules.

This campaign, featuring Springbok captain and Panasonic brand ambassador Siya Kolisi, includes a quiz in which participants have a chance to win Panasonic prizes by correctly predicting where the Tokai University team finishes in the race via social networking sites (www.followsiya.com). The campaign is intended to raise Panasonic's brand recognition as well as awareness of its eco-friendly renewable energy and storage technologies.

Since 2011, Panasonic has been providing the Tokai University team with its HIT solar modules and lithium-ion batteries, which helped the team establish an impressive track record in solar car races around the world, including the win in the Sasol Solar Challenge in 2012.

More than 20 local and international teams are expected to participate in the sixth edition of the competition with their zero-emission vehicles. The teams will compete to cover the most distance in the eight-day race, which starts in Pretoria on September 22 and finishes in Stellenbosch on September 29, 2018. They will follow a set route each day and then complete as many loops as they choose bearing in mind that they need to finish in time for the day. To win the race, it takes good technology, engineering and teamwork that manage energy, the weather and the routes well.

For Panasonic, which aspires to create "A Better Life, A Better World," the solar car race epitomizes its commitment to a sustainable society.

The "You Can Be the Light" project launched in South Africa this year is part of such efforts as well. In this project, Panasonic, in partnership with The Nelson Mandela Foundation, aims to donate 10,000 solar lanterns to communities without electricity in South Africa, as both of them celebrate the 100th anniversary this year - 100 years since Panasonic's founding and late President Nelson Mandela's birth. This program follows the successful completion of the "100 Thousand Solar Lantern" project, under which Panasonic donated more than 100,000 solar lanterns to off-grid communities in 30 countries, including South Africa and other African nations during the five years from February 2013 to January 2018. More information on the "You Can Be the Light" project can be found at https://www.youcanbethelight.za.panasonic.com/.

Panasonic will continue to contribute to realizing a better life and a better world through its renewable energy technologies.

Race report

The Tokai University Solar Car Team finished runners up in the Sasol Solar Challenge 2018 held from September 22 to 30 in South Africa. The team's solar car, whose energy was supplied by Panasonic's high-capacity lithium-ion batteries and high-efficiency HIT solar modules, racked up a whopping 3941.4km during the competition.
In this year's competition, the Tokai University team cleared the preliminaries securing first place. From day one Tokai University team was vying for the first spot with the defending champion the Dutch team. On day four Tokai University's lead was extended by 36km. However, strong wind and rain storm came around half way into the race which brought the race much tighter. In the end, Tokai University fell just behind the Dutch team to take second place.

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