Corporate Information
Our History
- 1918
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Founder Konosuke Matsushita established Matsushita Electric Equipment Manufacturing Works (the beginning of Panasonic).
- 1939
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Developed and supplied car radios (super receivers for a member of the imperial family), marking the start of the automotive business.
- 1954
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Delivered car radios to Isuzu Motors, the first supply to an automobile manufacturer.
- 1966
- Released combination switches.
- 1967
- Saedo Plant began operations.
- 1968
- Released in-car speakers.
- 1971
- Began production of car radios in Thailand, marking the company’s first manufacturing operations outside of Japan, in the broader Asian region.
- 1974
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Matsumoto（photo, taken in 1979）, Tsuruga, and Shirakawa Plants began operations.
- 1980
- Delivered the world’s first in-vehicle voice synthesis system.
- 1981
- Released seat heaters.
- 1984
- Released a rear parking sensor.
- 1985
- Established the company’s first European production base in Germany.
- 1987
- Began producing car audio systems at Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- 1992
- Supplied a car navigation system to an automaker for the first time.
- 1995
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Established the company’s first production base at Dalian, China.
Released a steering angle sensor.
Achieved a cumulative production of 100 million car audio systems.
- 1996
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Released the world’s first in-vehicle device compatible with three media for VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System).
Supplied Japan’s first in-vehicle camera for passenger cars to an automaker.
- 1997
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Released the world’s first DVD car navigation system.
- 2010
- Released the world’s first vehicle proximity notification system.
- 2012
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Supplied the in-vehicle charging system for Nissan’s electric vehicle, the “Leaf.”
- 2014
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Released electronic mirrors.
- 2015
- Launched the “DRIVEBOSS” service, an automated scheduling system for transportation planning.
- 2017
- Released a rear detection camera with the world’s first human detection capability.
- 2019
- A compact head-up display was adopted in Nissan’s new Skyline model.
- 2020
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Established “Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc.,” a joint venture with Toyota for in-vehicle prismatic battery production.
Reached a cumulative production of 100 million in-vehicle cameras.
- 2022
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Reorganized as Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd., following the transition to a holding company structure within the Panasonic Group.
A full-display meter was adopted in Mazda’s “CX-60.
- 2023
- Achieved net-zero CO₂ emissions across all global sites.
- 2024
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Announced the corporate vision to become the “Joy in Motion” design company.
Began operations at the Matsusaka Plant.
Transition to a new management structure based on our strategic partnership with Apollo.