Japan's electronic appliance makers have been competing with new products that are both economical and environmentally friendly in the mature washing-machine market.
Japanese electronic manufacturers usually sell a total of about 3.8 million washing machines in Japan each year. Japanese appliance makers, which have already satisfied consumers with powerful cleaning capability, have been putting forth efforts to develop products that are different from competitors, the analysts said.
They said Japanese appliance makers focus more on the domestic washing machine market as they do not make good profits in overseas markets.
Unlike other manufacturers such as Japanese auto makers, which have a strong presence in other Asian markets, Chinese and South Korean makers are more competitive in those markets thanks to the improvements in technology and the cheaper prices of washing machines.
"In order to attract Japanese consumers who only buy new washing machine every eight years or so, each Japanese appliance makers tries to invent new products that are different from others," said a spokesman at Sanyo Electric Co.
According to the Japanese government, the average years of using washing machines among Japanese consumers is 8.5 years. It also said the ownership rate of washing machines in Japan stood at 99.3 percent last year.
Sanyo released its new soapless washing machine on Aug. 1. Since its launch, the company has sold about 30,000 units despite the high price of ?128,000 yen (US$1,06).
"Despite the dampening of consumer sentiment amid the recession, our sales for the new product is 30 percent more than our past new washing machine product sales," said the Sanyo official.
Instead of soap, Sanyo's new washing machine cleans the dirt by stream of bubbles created by ultrasonic waves. It is then broken down by electrolysed water produced by two electrodes.
Sanyo's new machine uses activated oxygen and hypochlorous acid, generated by electrodes on the side of the wash basin to dissolve dirt particles.
This prevents the dirt from reattaching to clothes, while simultaneously sterilizing the laundry, Sanyo said.
The company said its new products saves ?32 per wash load for detergent costs alone. Over a years time this represents a potential savings of about ?12,000 (US$100).
Sanyo says the machine should help people with skin problems triggered by laundry detergents, such as babies, who are often allergic to soap.
The Sanyo official said Japanese consumers, who are obsessed with cleaning, wash towels and underwear which they use at night every morning.
"Those are not very dirty but many Japanese consumers wash them anyway. The product was developed because many Japanese who prefer to avoid using detergent when washing such items as towels and dyed fabrics," the Sanyo official said.
The company spent five years developing of the new product. Sanyo, which places fourth in the fully automatic washing machine market with a share of some 10 percent, was keen for new models with features not offered by its rivals.
Sharp Corp. also said it will launch what it claims to be the world's first washing machine on November 1 that uses "supersonic vacuum bubbles" to remove tough stains without laundry detergent.
Sharp said the bubble jets are 100 times more powerful than the cleaning capacity of its previous model, making it possible to save about 30 percent of laundry detergents. It will be priced at ?125,000.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co released this summer new top-loading washing machine that has a built-in dryer. The new washer-dryer has a suggested retail prices of ?165,000. Hitachi Ltd also launched in September a top-loading washing machine with a built-in dryer.
Many Japanese households do not have a dryer because of a space shortage. Matsushita said the new machines target single women living on their own who may feel uncomfortable hanging their laundry outside, as well as elderly couples who may find it burdensome to lug their laundry around.
Japanese appliance makers cannot ignore such people because of the rising numbers of unmarried Japanese women, and the increasing population of elderly in Japan.
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