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Neha Kaushik
Richa Mishra

Close on the heels of the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, announcing an excise duty reduction for air-conditioners in the Union Budget, Hitachi was one of the companies to announce that it is going to pass on the benefits to the consumer.

NEW DELHI, March 7

HITACHI Home & Life (India) Ltd, a subsidiary of Hitachi Home & Life Solutions, is planning to strengthen its position in the commercial/industrial air-conditioning segment by rolling out higher tonnage products for the segment.

According to Mr Shoji Tsubokuta, Managing Director, Hitachi Home & Life (India), "We will be launching products ranging from three to 10 tonnes. The three-tonne AC will be launched around June this year, while the higher-end ones will be introduced later. The technology will be coming from the parent company in Japan."

Recently, seeing the high growth in the commercial AC segment, many domestic as well as multi-national companies have announced plans for the segment. "There is much growth coming through the new office complexes, and hotels that are coming up. Also, growth in the telecom and information technology segments will help drive demand for commercial air-conditioners", Mr Tsubokuta said.

Close on the heels of the Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, announcing excise duty reduction for air-conditioners in the Union Budget, Hitachi is one of the first few companies to announce that it is going to pass on the benefits to the consumer. The company has announced a 3.5 per cent reduction in prices across its range of products.

Elaborating further, Mr Tsubokuta said that window ACs from Hitachi's stable will now cost almost Rs 750 less, while split ACs will be costing about Rs 1,500 less.

Meanwhile, on the issue of setting up a facility in Jammu, Mr Tsubokuta said that the facility would be operational from the next quarter. Further, once production commences there, the company will be slowly phasing out its production capacity at its existing unit in Silvassa. In the first phase of operations in Jammu, the company would be looking to assemble about 3,000 units per month. This would gradually be increased.

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