Panasonic unveils Toughbook CF-53 in India

MUMBAI: Japanese electronics major Panasonic today entered the laptop space unveiling their latest offering Toughbook CF-53 targeted at the business to business segment and is priced at Rs 1 lakh.

"This year it will be 4,000 units because we entered late. Next year, we are targeting 40,000 units," Panasonic India President Daizo Ito said when asked about his sales target.

According to VDC Research, the Toughbook has a 65.3 per cent share of the global notebook market, but it did not disclose the size of the global notebook market.

"We are hoping to reach out to a wide customer segment with this product and cater to the needs of businesses. The Toughbook has been designed keeping in mind the challenges and requirements of various industries and localisation being the key to our success," Ito said.

The company plans to sell the product to different sectors like automotive, aviation, telecom, utility and government.

"We aim to capture more than 50 per cent market share in each target vertical in India," Panasonic General Manager Toughbook Asia Amos Tio said.

Globally, Panasonic had posted consolidated net sales of USD 105 billion in the year ended March 2011. For the financial year ended March 2011, Panasonic India registered total sales of Rs 3,200 crore and is expected to close the current fiscal with a turnover of 5,500 crore.