Matsushita Electric Shooting for No.1 in Air-conditioner Sales

Taipei, Jan. 25, 2006 (CENS)--Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) Co. recently announced it has set a sales goal of producing 200, 000 air-conditioners this year to challenge rival Hitachi Taiwan as the largest vendor of the products in Taiwan.

Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) said the high-value-added inverter-type models would account for 40% of its total sales of air-conditioners this year. However, the company hasn' t yet set the tag price for the inverter models because the price of raw materials such as copper is on the rise.

With the extra function of removing dust, the new machines to be marketed by Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) will be priced at a level some NT$5, 000 (US$156.25 at US$1:NT$32) higher than older models.

Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) president S.C. Chen said copper is now quoted at the price of US$4, 600 per metric ton globally, up 50% from the past year. The sharp rise in copper price has driven up the production cost of air-conditioners, which have key components, including compressors and motors, made of copper and aluminum alloys.

The company sold 150, 000 air-conditioners last year, up 9% from the year earlier. Chen attributed the sales growth to the introduction of new product lines and the stability of retail prices.

The sales volume of air-conditioners in Taiwan amounted to 900, 000 units last year. Although market suffered an inventory glut because of oversupply, Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) still saw a growth in sales last year due to its increased supply of high-value-added products.

Although the air-conditioner sector is expected to remain flat, Matsushita Electric (Taiwan) still projects an annual sales growth of 30% for this year. With the sales growth target, the company will be able to expand market share and become Taiwan' s No.1 vendor of air-conditioners this year.