Due to the slowing growth of the smartphone market, Panasonic Corp., the maker of chip-mounter robots that could assemble a smartphone, decided to eye automakers for a shift of industry target. However, Katsuhiko Omoto, Panasonic's factory automation unit's head, said that the company still hoped to boost its share through other options.
"We don't really see big growth," Omoto told Reuters. He added that the company would try to woo several smaller mobile phone manufacturers in China that were currently gaining popularity. Omoto also said that he wanted to lessen the smartphone-related enterprise to a quarter from 30%. He would sell more of the robot to the automaking industry.
The sales of the chip mounter business of Panasonic fell by a tenth this year. The business owned around 30% of global market share and it was considered as the company's niche market. Moreover, at present, its enterprise generates about 1.4% of sales and earns 6% of operating profit.
According to the International Data Corporation, a market tracker, the sales of smartphones were still growing. It predicted that by 2017, the shipments of smartphone would record 1.5 billion, up from this year's 917 million. However, compared with the last five years, the growth could really be considered to be slowing. IDC said that this year, the sales could increase by 15% in mature markets like the US, down from 2012's 20.6%. This would slow even more to only 4.6% by 2017. The growth in emerging markets like China would slow 12% this year from up to 35% in 2012.
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