Panasonic to invest Rs 120 cr on marketing AC range next year

NEW DELHI: Japanese consumer durables maker Panasonic today said it will invest Rs 120 crore in marketing of its air conditioners next year and has renewed contract with Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador for its home appliances range.

The company, which today introduced 65 new models of air conditioners (ACs) priced between Rs 17,000 and Rs 60,000, said it plans to capture 25 per cent of the split AC market in the coming year.

At present, the Indian AC market is estimated to be around 3.4 million units, of which 70 per cent are split ACs, while the rest are window.

"With the most extensive portfolio of the air conditioning solutions across consumer and commercial segments, we intend to target a market share of 25 per cent in the spilt AC segment by giving more innovative offerings for tier II and tier III markets," Panasonic India Director Sales and Marketing Manish Sharma said.

The company said the new range of split ACs are equipped with the ECONAVI intelligent sensors technology that detects human location, activity level, absence and sunlight intensity in the room, thereby providing energy saving without sacrificing the comfort.

The new products will be available in market from January 2012, which will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign across platforms including television and outdoor.

"Also, we are glad to announce the continuation of our association with Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador for Panasonic home appliances," he added.