Panasonic to end solar panel production

TOKYO, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Japan’s Panasonic Corp will cease production of its own solar panels, national broadcaster NHK and the Nikkei newspaper said on Sunday, citing increasing price competition from Chinese manufacturers.

The Nikkei reported that the company will end manufacturing of solar cells and panels at factories in Malaysia and Japan’s Shimane prefecture in the business year from April.

In the future, Panasonic will source solar panels from other manufacturers, the NHK and Nikkei said.

“We are considering various measures to strengthen the management structure of the solar business but at this point, nothing has been decided,” Panasonic said in a statement, adding that the Nikkei report was not something the company announced.

(Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Raju Goplakrishnan and William Mallard)