A logo of Hitachi Ltd. is on display at the CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) JAPAN 2017 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba in October 2017.
12:30 JST, July 28, 2024
Hitachi Ltd. has announced that it will discontinue production of household air conditioners.
The electrical appliances company is selling a joint air-conditioning business it started with U.S. company Johnson Controls International PLC (JCI) to Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch). Hitachi’s equity in the sale amounts to $1.4 billion (about ¥218 billion).
Hitachi and JCI established the joint venture in 2015, with Hitachi holding 40% of the shares and JCI holding 60%. They aim to complete the sale in June 2025. After the sale, the joint venture will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bosch, which will sign a brand licensing agreement with Hitachi and continue to sell Hitachi-branded home air conditioners.
However, Hitachi is optimistic about the future of its commercial air conditioning business, as more demand is expected from data centers. To continue the business, a Hitachi subsidiary in the electrical appliances business will take over the joint venture’s factory.
In 1952, Hitachi became the first company to sell window air conditioners in Japan. In 1959, a polar bear symbol (“shirokuma” in Japanese) was attached to Hitachi’s air conditioners, and by 1975, the Shirokuma-kun brand name was recognized nationwide. Hitachi will now focus on its core businesses and high-growth areas, while selling businesses that do not cooperate with them.
