In 2012, Panasonic's LED lighting accounted for 10% of the global market. The firm has been expanding product lines and expects to obtain a 37.5% share in Japan in 2013. Panasonic has been expanding in other markets such as China and Europe as the Japan market is likely to become saturated in a few years. The firm predicts revenues from China and Europe will account for 76.3% of total overseas revenues in 2015.
Toshiba Lightech is Japan's second largest LED lighting maker. The firm has been in the lighting business for 130 years. In 2012, the firm's LED lighting revenues were JPY86 billion (US$976 million). The firm expects to obtain a share of 27.7% in Japan and to see revenues from LED lighting reach JPY130 billion in 2014, according to Digitimes Research.
Panasonic emphasizes distribution channels for downstream LED products while Toshiba Lightech focuses on development of upstream LED components. Differing from other firms that focus on sapphire substrates, Toshiba Lightech has been cooperating with Bridgelux to develop GaN-on-Si technology. As of the end of 2012, the firm's monthly LED chip capacity was 10 million units, relatively small compared to LED chipmakers that adopt sapphire substrates.
