Panasonic Electric Works India, which is a subsidiary of Japan’s Panasonic Corp., seeks to double its solar module business within three years, and boost its exports.
“Solar contributes 6% to our overall business, comprising wiring devices, wires, cables and more. Our vision is that in the next three years, we want it to reach double-digit contribution. 10-12% of contribution should come from solar,” Amit Barve, head of solar business, said in an interview.
“In distributed solar market we have 3-3.5% right now and we expect to touch 5% in two years. As the world continues to see India as +1 to China, we expect to achieve this,” he said. The company plans to position India as an export hub and expects the share of exports to its entire business to increase from 25% as of 31 March 2023, to 30% this financial year.
“Out of the volumes, I would say 30% is what we are looking for in exports. 10-12% of export is happening for made-in-India models. Balance is happening through made-in-China. And with many countries preferring products from India, we are trying to capitalize on it,” he said. “… Indian exports in solar have been multiplying. Especially, few countries such as the US, Canada and Europe, among others prefer made-in-India products as compared to made-in-China. We are actually exploring more and more markets. What we are looking at is a mandate for supplying modules beyond Japan.”
The company is set to invest ₹300 crore over 3-4 years to expand its Sri City manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh to achieve its exports targets, the company’s management said in a press briefing.
“We have already invested ₹300 crore in our new Sri factory. We plan to invest a total of ₹600 crore in the five years’ bracket which is 2021 to 2025. In first tranche of investment, ₹300 crore has been already invested,” said Rajesh Nandwani, director of power business unit, Panasonic Electric Works India.
The company said India is in a strategic position, and it aims to establish it as an export hub. Nandwani said exports currently constitute 2% of overall revenue, and it aims to push it up to 10% of the targeted revenue by 2030.
The development comes at a time the company is looking to triple its topline growth, said Yoshiyuki Kato, managing director, Panasonic Life Solutions India. “In FY23, our business was at ₹5,000 crore-plus. We plan to increase it by three times in seven years.”
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Updated: 11 Sep 2023, 12:19 AM IST