Who Makes Toshiba TVs And Where Are They Built?

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For most Americans, the name Toshiba is usually linked to memories of consumer electronics products made by the Japanese electronics giant of the '80s and '90s. For several years, Toshiba was a name associated with quality consumer electronic products, personal computers, and a wide range of home appliances. Outside of these spaces, the company also had a presence in various segments like semiconductors, storage solutions, and even computer peripherals.

Perhaps one of the most popular product lines from Toshiba was its lineup of televisions, which, back in the day, were known for their high quality and excellent features while competing against other Japanese brands like Sony, Panasonic, and JVC. But have you wondered where these Toshiba TVs — particularly, the ones that are bound for the U.S. are manufactured?

Let's investigate.

From 1986 until 2011, Toshiba televisions bound for the North American and Mexican markets were manufactured at the company's own manufacturing plant located in Chihuahua, Mexico, located right across the border from the United States. In 2011, Toshiba sold this manufacturing plant to Taiwanese ODM (original design manufacturer) Compal. By 2015, Toshiba decided to exit the LCD TV manufacturing segment entirely and discontinued sales of its TVs in the U.S.

The Toshiba TV brand received a fresh lease of life three years later — in 2018 — after Chinese television major Hisense acquired 95% of Toshiba's TV manufacturing division — Toshiba Visual Services Corporation. The deal also gave Hisense the right to use the "Toshiba" brand name for the next 40 years. Soon after this deal was finalized, Toshiba-branded televisions made a comeback in the U.S. by using Hisense's existing manufacturing facilities in Mexico as the local manufacturing base.

Hisense, which now has the license to use the Toshiba branding on televisions for the next three decades, doesn't explicitly say where the Toshiba-branded TVs are manufactured. However, its expanding operations in Mexico in recent years may offer a clue.

As it turns out, Toshiba isn't the only legacy Japanese brand that Hisense has the usage rights for. In 2015, Hisense purchased the usage rights and assets of another major Japanese TV brand — Sharp — and as part of the deal, also got ownership of its manufacturing plant in Rosarito, Mexico. Today, this is a major facility where Hisense manufactures its Hisense and Sharp branded TVs. It's possible that Toshiba-branded TVs bound for the U.S. are manufactured at these same facilities in Mexico.

The Mexican origins of Toshiba's U.S.-bound TVs can be further verified by the fact that many of the Amazon listings for Toshiba TVs sold in the U.S. have their "country of origin" listed as Mexico. But what about Toshiba TVs sold outside of the U.S. market? Given that Hisense is a global TV brand and sells its TVs in several markets across the globe, it is dependent on multiple facilities to manufacture its self-branded TVs as well as the ones that have the Toshiba and Sharp labels.

Like with the U.S., Hisense isn't transparent about which specific products are manufactured in which facilities. However, the company does manufacture TVs in countries like China, Indonesia, Slovenia, and India. Simply put, there isn't one single correct answer to the question of where Hisense-made Toshiba-branded TVs are actually made. The answer to this question really depends on where you're buying these TVs from.