Blue Star, India’s oldest air conditioner (AC) maker is planning to exit the window AC market with effect from January next year, as it believes that it will be almost impossible for the segment to meet the new norms of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. By next year, five-star ACs will become four-star; four will become three and so on. One-star ACs will be phased out of the market.
The AC maker has sold around 40,000 units of window ACs, as of 2011 and the market size of the segment is 225,000 units. The new norms will make window ACs costlier by at least 16%.
