OREANDA-NEWS. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced the establishment of a joint venture with Hefei Kinghome Electrical Co., Ltd. to research, develop and design large, advanced refrigerators for increasingly affluent consumers. The new joint venture, Hefei Kinghome Mitsubishi Electric Home Appliances Technology Development Co., Ltd., will start operating in August.

Mitsubishi Electric aims to expand its refrigerator business in China by leveraging its proprietary technologies for energy-saving, high-capacity refrigerators. The joint venture will be positioned as a research and development center to accelerate the development of value-added products meeting specific demands in the Chinese market. The Chinese parent, Hefei Kinghome Electrical, will produce and sell the refrigerators.

Chinese consumers' growing affluence and various support programs offered by the government are stimulating the demand for higher-capacity and higher-performance refrigerators, including multi-door models, which are expected to start selling briskly in the foreseeable future.