Matsushita Works to Refocus Car A/V Business on Aftermarket

摘要

"Considering Panasonic's techno-logical expertise, the strength of its brand name and sales power, the current position of Matsushita in the aftermarket for car audio-visual (A/V) products is far below what it should be," says Yoshihiro Hamada, who took over in December 2003 as Managing Director, Consumer Automotive Systems Marketing & Sales Division, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. "In particular, our share of car audio products markets outside Japan is lower than Panasonic's other A/V products. We will work hard on strengthening car A/V products so that we can capture one of the top three places in this category as quickly as possible." Over the past 20 years, Hamada was involved in sales of A/V products to automakers for factory installation. "Factory-installed and after-market products are like the two wheels of a car," he explained. "These days automakers are putting particular emphasis on the brand image of car A/V products they install in their cars. It is essential to strengthen aftermarket sales to increase sales of A/V products for factory installation."