Pioneer, which has developed products in the plasma TV market for 10 years, will not rule out the possibility of developing products for the LCD TV market in the sub-42-inch segments, according to Toshiya Yamamoto, a Pioneer executive in charge of the company's global marketing strategy.

Yamamoto said Pioneer thinks the sub-42-inch LCD TV segments are a huge opportunity, as these segments satisfy demand from average families and therefore Pioneer will not rule out the possibility of entering the sub-42-inch LCD TV market.

However, for 42-inch and larger segments, Pioneer holds that the excellent performance and picture quality of plasma TV appeals to consumers, and therefore the company will stay focused on plasma TV applications. The company has no plans to develop LCD TVs for 42-inch and larger segments, Yamamoto said.

According to the company, Pioneer, which is one of the top-five plasma TV vendors along with Panasonic, LG Electronics, Samsung SDI, and Hitachi, currently has four plasma TV production lines at three plants in Japan, with a total annual capacity of 970,000 units.

Pioneer expects to ship 720,000 plasma TVs in 2007, and 780,000-800,000 units in 2008. Europe is currently the chief market for Pioneer's plasma TVs, accounting for about 40% of its shipments. Japan and other Asian markets (chiefly Taiwan) account for 10% each.