Lenovo To Move ThinkPad Production Back To Japan

NEC Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. will move some production of ThinkPad PCs from China manufacturing lines back to Japan. Originally developed and manufactured in Japan's Yamato research laboratory, a trial run for production of ThinkPads at NEC's plant in Yamagata Prefecture will begin this fall. Moving toward full-scale production in Japan is desired for the future.

Japanese customers who purchase ThinkPads currently have to wait about 10 days for delivey. By moving some of the production to Japan, the company will be able to ensure faster delivery and convenience for their Japanese customers. The executive chairman of NEC Lenovo Holdings B.V. made it clear that the future of the project will heavily rely on the choices of NEC-Lenovo group partners and customers.

NEC and Lenovo launched the venture about a year ago focused on Japan with the goal to capture about a 30 percent domestic market share within three years. NEC and Lenovo's main competitor, HP, made a similar move in 2011 to shift some production away from China and into Japan to make it more convenient for Japanese customers.

[via Verge]