Chinese TVs Quietly Surpass 50% Market Share... What Happened to Japan's Home Market?

Chinese Companies Surpass 50% Market Share in Japanese TV Market
Including Toshiba-Acquired Brands
Three Out of Four TVs Sold Last Year Were Chinese or Taiwanese Products
Forecasts Suggest Hisense and TCL May Overtake Samsung and LG Amid Chinese

For the first time, Chinese companies have surpassed a 50% market share in the Japanese TV market. According to Yonhap News on the 7th, citing the Asahi Shimbun, "Market analysis firm BCN reported that the market shares by company were 41.1% for China's Hisense and 9.7% for TCL. Hisense's share consisted of 25.4% from the Regza brand acquired from Toshiba and 15.7% from its own brand." In addition, Sharp, which was acquired by Taiwan's Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry), held a 20.6% share, meaning that three out of every four TVs released in Japan last year were products from China or Taiwan.

A visitor is looking at the screen displayed at the booth of Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense at the IFA International Consumer Electronics Fair. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

In contrast, Japanese companies only accounted for 9.6% for Sony and 8.8% for Panasonic. The Asahi Shimbun analyzed, "The decline of Japanese companies is becoming pronounced, with Panasonic being pressured to reconsider its business, including a possible withdrawal from the TV market." The article noted, "In the past, TVs were a key product for Japanese electronics companies, but as the quality gap between manufacturers has essentially disappeared, Chinese companies with price competitiveness have come to the forefront." A BCN official told the Asahi Shimbun, "Picture quality is good across all brands, so it is hardly a deciding factor when making a purchase."

While Japanese companies still maintain a majority share in large refrigerators and drum washing machines, the gap is gradually narrowing due to the aggressive push by Chinese manufacturers. Haier Japan has designated this year as its 'third founding period,' strengthening its sales system, and Hisense is actively targeting the Japanese market by leveraging its TV brand recognition to enter the home appliance sector.

The TCL booth on the opening day of IFA held in Berlin, Germany, on the 5th (local time). TCL signed a top sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee last February. Photo by Reuters and Yonhap News

As Chinese home appliance companies gain competitiveness through government support, low labor costs, and long working hours, there is growing tension in the South Korean home appliance industry. According to Yonhap News, at the 'Display Strategy Seminar for 2026 Preparation' held on September 5, Lee Choonghoon, CEO of UBI Research, stated, "Competitiveness in the display industry is directly linked to set manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics," adding, "There are forecasts that Hisense will surpass Samsung Electronics in 2026, and TCL will also overtake them in 2028."

In 2023, Hisense and TCL overtook LG Electronics in TV shipments, ranking second and third, respectively. Since September last year, the Chinese government has been investing astronomical amounts in supporting domestic display and set manufacturers through its home appliance replacement program. Approximately 28 trillion won was invested in the second half of last year, and this year, the program will expand to include smartphones and IT devices, with plans to provide about 56 trillion won in support. Lee pointed out, "Samsung and LG are essentially competing with the Chinese government," and emphasized, "The competitiveness of the domestic display and electronics industry has significantly weakened."