On December 1,  China new flat-panel TV energy efficiency standards was carried out, which contained three level standards: level one for most efficient products; level two for products that meet the lowest requirements for being labeled energy-efficiency products; and level three for products meeting the minimum requirements for being allowed on the market. It’s estimated that would stimulate more price-cut promotion on products that did not meet the standard.

When the new standards were first reported in the end of June, venders started cleaning their inventories in the next five months. So until recently, venders should have clean out their most inventories. Also, this meant that a higher threshold in terms of cost and technology, and small- to medium-size players would not have advantage from their low prices, with the first-tier vendors focusing on higher efficiency products.

At present, First-tier vendors focused on 46- and 47-inch models, while local vendors focused on 32-, 40- and 42-inch models. Local brands had seen prices of their 32-inch LED-backlit TVs drop below CNY2, 500, and prices of popular LED-backlit models had dropped by around 20%. Prices for 40- and 42-inch models had dropped below CNY5,000, and some models from China vendors had dropped to as low as CNY4,000.