Klipsch is entering the OEM car audio market in a collaboration with Panasonic Automotive.
At CES, Klipsch, a VOXX International company, said that no auto makers have yet committed to the new Klipsch car audio products. So, it’s likely we won’t see a Klipsch system in a car for at least three years, due to the lead time in bringing any new car product to market.
Panasonic’s other OEM audio automotive brands include Fender and Panasonic’s ELS Studio 3D.. Klipsch becomes the audiophile line in Panasonic’s line up, it said. Fender is offered in select Nissan and Volkswagen models and ELS Studio is in all Acura models since 2003. The newer ELS Studio 3D has been in Acura since 2018.
Klipsch, based in Indianapolis, has been providing high-performance speakers, headphones, sound systems and other entertainment products in the United States for more than 70 years.
“Over my 26 years with Klipsch, I have repeatedly been asked ‘when will Klipsch enter the car audio business?’ My response has always been the same: when the right partner comes along,” said Paul Jacobs, President and CEO of Klipsch Group, Inc. “…We believe we bring something very special to the automotive audio industry, and we look forward to what this collaboration with Panasonic will deliver.”
Glad to see Panasonic add another brand to their portfolio. I can see this being a good add to Infiniti vehicles.
Is that B&S or just BS! Why would any major home brand, want to deal with PREMIER independent dealers with an exclusive non-distributed product line, keep it off the internet, especially now that OEM’s are jeopardizing the future of the Independent dealers’ biz and affecting the industry?
Clue: it makes the world go round.
Well stated. Just what the industry needs, another “licensing” agreement… How did the Klipsch brand work in the OE Marine industry? It didn’t
What exactly does Klipsch bring to the automotive industry that is “special” versus the brands who founded it and have been in this space for decades? So this is not yet another “home audio” brand (who’s industry is more bas*****d than ours) making a cash-in grab with the OEM’s off a name?
This is what happens when automotive suppliers buy out brand names or home audio sales decreasing makes them turn their heads to another income stream. Good luck, you’re up against the other “home” brands already in this space like Burmeister, Mark Levinson, Naim, B&O, B&W all of which are mostly B & S.