The company plans to instead increase import of finished goods from its manufacturing bases in Thailand, which caters to the entire Asian market, for providing a wider and the latest selection of electronic good for consumers in India.

The decision was taken because the company felt that the sales volumes generated by Sony India did not justify the costs involved in running a manufacturing unit for audio products.

According to an official from Sony India, "The decision to stop audio production was reached as part of Sony India''s review of its production structure and in line with Sony''s overall review of its global production structure. We aim to achieve lean, efficient and high value-added operations for the whole Sony group. Sony India has thus decided to stop production of audio products by June-end.

Sony is also said to be increasingly scaling down the manufacture of colour TVs and meeting most of the Indian demand through imports though there is no confirmation of this. The official cited the increasing competition in the Indian market due to rapid advancement of technology and wider market accessibility, that made consumers turn to more advanced and cheaper products. He said because of this Sony had decided to offer consumers in India access to the latest electronic products which it would import into the country.

Industry insiders say that Sony India's decision is based on the free trade agreement (FTA) expected to be signed between Indian and Thailand. Sony would like to use its facility in Thailand for the purpose of importing products as it would be cheaper though Sony officials denied that the decision was based on FTA.

The company''s current market share of audios is 4.5 per cent in value terms and for CTV it is 7.8 per cent in value terms. LG and Samsung dominate the CTV market while Philips reigns over the audio market.

Sony India recorded a 20 per cent sales growth last year and it is expected to grow even more in future. Sony India has a distribution network of nearly 2,000 dealers and distributors in major locations in the country. Apart from this, it has 54 "Sony Exclusive" outlets and 39 "Sony World" outlets. The company is planning to set up five new service centers in various parts of the country.

Sony''s manufacturing plant in Haryana, has an installed capacity of 2 lakh pieces of audio equipment and 3 lakh colour televisions (CTVs) and has an in-built scalability to meet the expected demand growth in the next phase.

Sony India registered a turnover of Rs 850 crore last year and almost 65 percent of it came from colour televisions. Sony has phased out its curved-screen colour televisions and now produces only flat TVs.