Panasonic exits India's fridge and washer market stuck under 3% share for years

In June 2025 Panasonic Holdings announced it would discontinue its refrigerator and washing machine businesses in India, closing the production line for those products at its Jhajjar, Haryana factory, which now operates mainly as a contract manufacturer for other brands.

Industry executives told the Economic Times that Panasonic never managed more than 1-3% market share in either category against cutthroat competition from LG, Samsung and Haier; NielsenIQ data put its recent share at 1.8% in washing machines and about 0.8% in refrigerators. Layoffs were expected in the high double digits, with the company relocating some workers.

Panasonic India said it would rebuild around 'future-ready growth segments' — televisions, residential and commercial air conditioners, home automation, B2B solutions and energy — supporting dealers with inventory liquidation while keeping parts and warranty coverage for existing owners. The retreat fits pressure from the Japanese parent to restructure across geographies and exit loss-making ventures.

The two categories never passed a 1-3% share band; the Jhajjar, Haryana production line closes with high-double-digit layoffs, and dealer inventory is being liquidated.

Panasonic spent years competing in appliance categories where LG, Samsung and Haier had the scale, brand pull and local manufacturing to keep it under 3% share.

Both categories were loss-making, and the Japanese parent was pushing every region to shed ventures that could not win.

The remaining India businesses — TVs and air conditioners — already had the distribution and brand position, so the exit concentrated resources where share was actually reachable.

After years below 3% against Korean and Chinese rivals, Panasonic stopped funding categories where scale belonged to someone else and moved the money to where it could win.

Panasonic India is restructuring around TVs, residential and commercial ACs, home automation, electricals, B2B and energy solutions. It is giving partner companies that sourced from the Haryana plant a transition runway, liquidating dealer inventory and continuing full parts and warranty service for the discontinued categories.