LG Electronics announced that it would exit the solar panel business, due to the current market conditions and the rising costs that make it harder to compete with other manufacturers. LG’s solar panel business sales fell year over year, and it was inevitable that LG was either shutting the business down or making some drastic changes.

The Korean tech giant said that it would stop producing solar panels and modules by June 30, and many of the 900 employees who worked for the business would now be relocated to other business divisions, including the parent company and other subsidiaries.

LG introduced its own solar panels to the market in 2010, and it put a lot of emphasis on high-effeciency premium panels. While LG was successful and it managed to make a return on its investments, it never turned into a massive business, and it suffered a lot as more competition joined the race. LG’s market share remained at around 1-percent, and the sales fell from $922 million in 2019 to $671 million in 2020 (via TheKoreaHerald).

LG Posted this message on its solar panel page:

We are truly grateful for your support of LG solar products.

LG has recently made the difficult decision to close its solar panel business to focus on other businesses that will provide new experiences and value for our customers.

Our solar products will continue to be available for a period of time, depending on the supply circumstances of each country.

We will fully honor our warranties in accordance with applicable regulations and contractual obligations.

We want to thank you for your loyalty and support of LG solar products.We hope that you will embrace our other smart technologies, as LG continues to deliver a wide range of innovative products and services that make life better

LG also shut down its smartphone business earlier in April, 2021, when it said that it was a strategic decision to exit the “incredibly competitive mobile phone sector”, which enabled the company to focus on its more popular businesses, such as appliances and more.