Panasonic Home Appliances

What is Panasonic and what does it make in the UK?

Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics and appliance manufacturer headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1918, it is one of the longest-established and most widely recognised electronics brands in the world, with revenues of approximately ¥8.5 trillion in 2024 and over 228,000 employees globally.

In the UK, Panasonic’s home appliance presence is focused on countertop kitchen appliances rather than large white goods. The current UK home appliance range covers microwaves, breadmakers, compact air fryers, and cookers. Panasonic was previously known in the UK as a washing machine brand, but discontinued its washing machine and washer-dryer range in 2024. Consumers searching for Panasonic large appliance support, spare parts, or repair information for existing machines will find guidance further down this page.

The origins of Panasonic: a socket inventor from Osaka

The company that became Panasonic was founded on 7 March 1918 by Kōnosuke Matsushita in the Fukushima ward of Osaka, Japan. Matsushita began as a vendor of duplex lamp sockets, a small and unglamorous product, but one that gave him a manufacturing foundation from which he would build one of the largest electronics companies in the world.

Kōnosuke Matsushita’s personal story is inseparable from the company he built. He had left school at the age of nine to work, came from a family that had lost its wealth, and had little formal education or capital. What he had was a conviction that well-made, affordable products could improve everyday life, and a management philosophy that treated employees as the company’s most important asset. He would become one of the most influential business figures in Japanese history, known in Japan as the “God of Management” and widely studied for his approach to corporate culture, employee welfare, and long-term business thinking.

In the 1920s, Matsushita began regularly launching new products. In 1927, he produced a line of bicycle lamps under the National brand name, the first use of what would become one of Japan’s most recognised brand identities. The company’s scope expanded rapidly: by the Second World War, Matsushita was producing electrical components, light fixtures, motors, electric irons, and wireless equipment across factories in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

From Matsushita to Panasonic: the brand’s evolution

For most of its history, the company operated under the Matsushita name corporately, with consumer brands that varied by market and product. In Japan, the National brand was used for most consumer products. The Panasonic name was created specifically for the Americas in 1955, combining “pan” (meaning “all”) and “sonic” (meaning “sound”), because the National trademark was already registered in the United States by another company. The brand was later extended to Europe in 1979.

The Technics brand, used for audio equipment from 1965, became particularly celebrated among audiophiles for its turntables and hi-fi separates. Technics was retired in the early 2000s as the hi-fi market contracted but was revived in European markets in December 2014, reflecting renewed consumer interest in premium audio equipment.

The full transition to the Panasonic name globally came in 2008, when the company formally renamed itself Panasonic Corporation, retiring the Matsushita Electric Industrial name it had carried since 1935. In 2022, a further reorganisation created Panasonic Holdings Corporation as the parent holding company, with Panasonic Corporation continuing as the main operating subsidiary for consumer products.

Panasonic’s history: key milestones

What appliances does Panasonic currently make for the UK market?

As of April 2026, the Panasonic UK home appliance range covers the following categories. Panasonic no longer sells washing machines or other large white goods in the UK, having discontinued these in 2024. Consumers looking for information about existing Panasonic large appliances they already own will find guidance in the service and repairs section below.

What happened to Panasonic washing machines in the UK?

Panasonic was previously available in the UK as a washing machine brand, offering a range of freestanding washing machines and washer-dryers that built a reasonable reputation particularly among consumers who valued the brand’s Japanese engineering credentials and quiet operation. In 2024, Panasonic discontinued its washing machine and washer-dryer range in the UK, withdrawing from the large domestic appliance category entirely.

This means that Panasonic washing machines, tumble dryers, and other large appliances are no longer available to purchase new in the UK. However, a significant number of Panasonic large appliances remain in use in UK homes, and those appliances can still be repaired and serviced. Genuine spare parts are available for many Panasonic large appliance models through specialist parts suppliers. If you own a Panasonic washing machine, dishwasher, or other large appliance and need repair or parts support, see the guidance below.

Panasonic Inverter microwave technology

Panasonic’s Inverter microwave technology is the most significant technical differentiator the brand has in the UK consumer market and is worth understanding if you are considering a Panasonic microwave or combination oven.

Conventional microwave ovens operate at a fixed, full power level regardless of the power setting selected. When you set a conventional microwave to 50% power, the magnetron turns on and off in cycles, alternating between full power and no power to average out to the requested level. This cycling produces uneven heating, with hot spots and cold spots in the food as the power pulses on and off.

Panasonic’s Inverter technology delivers a genuinely continuous stream of microwave energy at the selected power level, rather than cycling. This means that at 50% power, the food receives a steady 50% microwave energy stream rather than alternating bursts of full power. The practical difference is most noticeable when defrosting — Inverter defrosting is significantly more even and less likely to cook the outer edges of food while leaving the centre frozen — and when cooking delicate items or reheating foods that benefit from gentle, controlled heat.

Panasonic’s Nanoe™ technology

Nanoe™ is Panasonic’s proprietary technology for generating hydroxyl radicals, highly reactive molecules derived from water in the air, which the company uses across a range of products from air conditioning to hair care devices. In the context of UK home appliances, Nanoe™ technology appears primarily in Panasonic’s hair styling and beauty products, where it is claimed to reduce hair damage and improve moisture retention during styling.

The technology reflects Panasonic’s broader investment in what it calls “holistic wellbeing” products and its expertise in applying scientific research from professional applications to consumer products. The Nanoe™ platform is one of several technology platforms that Panasonic deploys across multiple product categories rather than developing separate solutions for each.

Kōnosuke Matsushita: the founder and his philosophy

Kōnosuke Matsushita (1894–1989) is one of the most studied business leaders in history, particularly in Japan where he is revered as a model of entrepreneurial thinking and people-centred management. His philosophy, developed over seven decades of building and running Matsushita Electric, centred on the idea that a company’s primary purpose was to contribute to society by providing products that improved everyday life, and that employees were not resources to be managed but people to be developed and respected.

His management writings, which include many books published during his lifetime, remain widely read in business education in Japan and increasingly in international management studies. He established the PHP Institute in 1946, a think tank and publishing organisation that continues to promote his ideas on human development and social contribution. He funded the Matsushita School of Government and Management, which opened in 1979 to train future Japanese political and social leaders.

For a global appliance brand, the founder’s legacy matters because it shaped the culture that produced the engineering quality Panasonic became known for. The emphasis on getting the product right, on not shipping something that did not meet the intended standard, and on treating the customer’s home as a place worthy of well-made products — these values are traceable directly to Matsushita’s philosophy and remain part of the brand’s identity decades after his death.

Buying and servicing Panasonic appliances in the UK

Panasonic’s current UK home appliance range is available through major electrical retailers, kitchen specialists, and the Panasonic UK online store. The breadmaker and microwave ranges are among the most widely stocked Panasonic products in UK retail.

For existing Panasonic large appliances — washing machines, tumble dryers, and other discontinued models — repairs and spare parts remain available through independent channels. Independent national repair companies listed in our national service providers guide service Panasonic appliances across all major categories. Genuine Panasonic spare parts are available through our appliance spare parts section, and Panasonic error codes for existing models can be looked up in our appliance error codes guide.

Key facts about Panasonic

Frequently asked questions about Panasonic home appliances

Last reviewed: April 2026