Panasonic India establishes R&D Partners with TATA ELXSI

Panasonic India has recently announced a Research & Development (R&D) establishment to further strengthen their appliances business. Mr. Tetsuro Homma, President of Appliances Company & Senior Managing Director, Panasonic Corporation, Mr. Manish Sharma, President and CEO Panasonic India and South Asia, Vice President, Appliances Company, Mr. Shigeto Yuasa, Chief Operating Officer, Panasonic Marketing along with Mr. Madhukar Dev, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Elxsi, Mr. Manoj Raghavan, EVP, Embedded Product Design, Tata Elxsi and Mr. Anil Sondur EVP, IDE/JLR /TML Business, Tata Elxsi, were present at the Tata Elxsi Head quarter in Bangalore.

The Design Division and Offshore Development Division of the R&D Centre is aimed at product designing, to expand current organization gradually by local product manufacturing and development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics from India for a global platform.

Being the enabler of innovation, developing technology that helps create A Better Life, A Better World, Panasonic has always been at the forefront of technological development and adaptation. Robotic household appliances, work assist systems, interactive and machine technology have already been a part of the shelves of Panasonic’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based innovations and now the company will aggressively be focusing on driving R&D in India on this platform.

Mr. Tetsuro Homma, President of Appliances Company & Senior Managing Director, Panasonic Corporation said, “The launch of the R&D Centre in Bangalore aims to grow Panasonic’s business in the ISAMEA region with a medium and long-term strategic view. One of the important features of this partnership is that it brings together the combined knowledge and expertise of design and development from both the organizations with an objective of developing better products for our consumers. The new R&D Centre will accelerate Panasonic product innovations in newer categories and will help the appliances industry in its growth.

Mr. Manish Sharma, President and CEO Panasonic India and South Asia, Vice President, Appliances Company said, “Today, digitally-connected consumers are looking for value-added technologies that will make their life simpler and smarter. IoT (Internet of Things), Big Data Analytics, Cloud, Mobility, Virtual Reality and AI are going to be an important part of game-changing technologies that will transform the entire consumer appliances space. Driving this technology driven demand are factors such as high disposable income, easy financing schemes and government’s digital impetus that further creates an opportunity for premium products. We believe this is the future and as part of our promise to our consumers to bring the best to them, we have associated with TATA ELXSI – the established leader for integrated design and technology services. The strategic association is also an extension of our commitment towards Make-in-India and thus, offers a complete solution for home appliances including design, production and sales.” Mr. Madhukar Dev, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Elxsi said, “We believe that digital technologies integrated into products will lead the way in defining the future for the consumer market. Panasonic India, with its Japanese reputation of technology and innovation, is an important partnership for us, and together with technologies like IoT (Internet of Things), we aim to drive the next generation of home appliances from India to the global market.”

Artificial Intelligence as part of home appliance will mean that very soon, these appliances will be able to improve its utility and performance for individual users over time, based on the data that it gathers through the individual consumer’s daily usage habits and patterns.

Panasonic started its local production of appliances with rice cookers beginning 1990, TVs from 1996. The company had re-entered the consumer business in 2008 and since then has been expanding aggressively across verticals and markets. The air conditioners and washing machines manufacturing plant was established in the year 2012 to address the growing demand of appliances in the market.

The company recently launched its first ever refrigerator plant at Jhajjar, Haryana with an investment of Rs. 115 crores. The operations will begin from January 2018 and sales for the same will commence from April 2018 in India.