Panasonic plans to invest $1 billion by 2012 to develop green
technologies for the home that would include energy-monitoring systems,
marking a major shift in the company's focus.
Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo said in an interview with the
Bloomberg news service this week that growing consumer interest in more
efficient products has led Panasonic to decide to develop new core
businesses.
"Our growth is not enough . So we want to change our fighting ring from
our current categories to a different field," Ohtsubo told Bloomberg.
The company plans to offer home energy management systems, as well as
develop existing interests in lithium ion batteries for electric cars,
solar panels, and smart appliances.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that the world's leading
plasma-TV manufacturer is getting rid of its star product.
As one of its green product ideas, Ohtsubo told Bloomberg about a
system in development that would allow people to monitor the
electricity generation of their solar panels and the electricity use of
their home appliances through their television sets.
One can't help but wonder if Panasonic's interest in a new core
business was in any way influenced by the U.S. Department of Energy's
decision to curb Energy Star seals for supersized televisions. Very
large televisions could fall out of favor if an increasingly energy-
conscious public relies on the Energy Star seal when deciding which
products to purchase for their home.
It also remains to be seen if this means Panasonic is going to abandon
its plasma TVs in favor of the increasingly popular LCD and LED-based
LCD televisions. Panasonic already does make LCD televisions, in
addition to plasmas.
