Hitachi to exit home air conditioner business; will focus on core businesses and high-growth areas

Reuters file photo
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.

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.