Hitachi Decides To Make Entry
Hitachi, the last of the Japanese consumer electronics giants yet to venture into India, has finally decided to enter the country.
The company will be introducing its range of televisions and audio systems through group unit Home Appliances Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd.
Hitachi's products will be imported in semi-knocked down condition and then assembled in the country.
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The Japanese major intends to initially launch the television sets in India. Most of the products will catering to the middle segment of the market consisting of 51 cm, 53 cm, 63cm, 68 cm and 73cm colour TV sets.
In the audio category, Hitachi's products cater to the premier segment of the Japanese and European markets and the company will be taking some time before launching these products in India since the demand for such products in the country is not considered very high.
Senior company officials said Hitachi is closely awaiting the budget proposals on whether the duty on colour television products will be reduced from the present rate or not.
The other Japanese consumer electronics giants like Sony, Toshiba (through Videocon) and Sanyo already have a presence in India either through distributors or by setting up a manufacturing base.
For instance, Sony India recently inaugurated a new 2 lakh pieces per year manufacturing facility for colour TVs, audio systems at Daruhera, near New Delhi.
Hitachi, however, has no plans to start a manufacturing base in the country. This could be because for most of the Japanese firms, indigenisation is a contentious issue since the components sourced from Indian vendors have often been found to be sub-standard, as in the case of Sony India. While the government wants them to indigenise 40 per cent of their production, the company has managed to source only 20 per cent locally.
The Japanese firms thus have to fall back on imported components and this results in higher prices for their finished products in the domestic market. Depending on the response for its products the Japanese firm will bring its range of premier audio equipment at a later date.