Sony seeks bigger share of LCD TV market

Indian affiliate of Japanese electronics major Sony today said that it is aiming at two per cent growth in 2009-10 to garner a market share of 30 per cent in the country's LCD TV market. However, the Japanese parent company has no plans to start manufacturing LCDs in India.

"We expect that our market share in LCD market in terms of volume should grow by 2 per cent to 30 per cent in the current fiscal, compared with 28 per cent market share in last fiscal. In value terms, our market share would grow to 35 per cent," Sony India general manager Sunil Nayyar told reporters in Chandigarh.

To capitalise on the swelling LCD market in the country, the company aims to sell 450,000 units in 2009-10 against 280,000 units sold in the last fiscal. Nayaar said the total market size for LCD TVs is expected to grow to 15 lakh units per annum in this year from just 300,000 units in 2007-08.

Asked if Sony has any plan to set up a manufacturing facility for LCDs in the country to cater to the mounting demand, Nayyar said, "At the moment we do not have any plan to start manufacturing here due to some quality issues." He added that the company would continue to import units from Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.

The company launched a host of new products over the weekend, including its super-slim Bravia XZ1 TV and three new entry-level SLR cameras.