issue: July 2003 APPLIANCE Magazine Tokyo Report Demand For Split AC Grows In Brazil	Share  Printable format  Email this Article  Search
Growth reflects expanding residential and commercial air-conditioner market.

Split-type ACs installed in banks, hotels, convenience stores, restaurants, offices, and residences have been increasing annually. Each time a large number of splits are supplied, Brazilian makers increase their competitive power, thus contributing to the yearly split-type increases.

Another factor leading to the increases is that split-type units can be used in situations where central air-conditioning equipment cannot be used for technological or economic reasons.

Since Brazil's AC market has huge potential, it is very unlikely for it to be saturated in the near future. A survey carried out in 2000 by the Institute Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) found that only 7.5 percent of residences covered in the survey were found to be equipped with ACs, while 87 percent of the residences have televisions, 35 percent have video cassettes, and 10.6 percent have personal computers. Yet in the U.S., more than 77 percent of U.S. consumers' residences were equipped with ACs. Although the number of ACs installed in Brazil has increased considerably, the Brazilian splits market is still very small compared to other countries.

This report is filed by Wasaku Ishida, Japanese correspondent, APPLIANCE magazine, and vice president, JARN (Japan Air-Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News).