Panasonic will end manufacturing of LCD TV panels for its TVs by the end of September. The company will instead source LCD panels for all TVs from external partners, according to Reuters.
Ending LCD TV panel production
When Panasonic realized that the era of plasma TV was coming to an end it set up a factory in Himeji, Japan, to produce large-size LCD panels for TVs.
The Himeji plant produced IPS type LCD TV panels that Panasonic used in some of its early generations of LCD TVs. In recent years, Panasonic has only used its IPS LCD panels in affordable TVs as the panels did not live up to customer expectations for high-end TVs. This in turn has forced the company to source mainly VA type LCD TV panels for its high-end TVs from other panel manufacturers such as Innolux.
Panasonic will end in-house production of LCD TV panels at the Himeji plant by the end of September 2016 as it has failed to make LCD production profitable. The plant will drastically reduce production capacity and be repurposed to production of LCD panels for cars and medical displays.
Panasonic will continue to sell LCD TVs.
This is the latest example of how the Japanese display industry has undergone a painful decline. Not many years ago Sony ended its LCD partnership with Samsung. Toshiba and Hitachi have also ended LCD TV panel production.
This leaves Sharp as the only remaining Japanese manufacturer of LCD TV panels. However, the majority of Sharp was recently acquired by taiwanese Foxconn.
- Source: Reuters
