Why Did LG Stop Making Solar Panels?

LG is perhaps one of the biggest TV brands in the world, but it's also a bona fide giant in the home appliances business. From fridges and laundry machines to stoves, LG can theoretically cover most bases in your home. Did you know that at one point, LG could also power a home itself with its line of residential solar panels? Unfortunately, the company's foray into this industry is a thing of the past as LG stopped making solar panels in 2022.

Solar panel innovations that boost their reliability just keep coming, but when LG quit the market, the company cited uncertainties in the business. The key factor, according to LG Electronics, was the increase in costs of materials and growing price competition. Though the company continued supporting existing customers, it slowly ramped down production throughout the second quarter of 2022 for inventory purposes, and by June 30, former employees received their severance packages.

LG wasn't the only company that quit producing solar panels in 2022. Panasonic is another giant that threw in the towel around the same time, and more recently, so did Sharp with its European subsidiary in 2025. Looking at the big picture, the demand for this type of energy (and the associated equipment) is increasing, but the rising costs still may not make production of panels wildly profitable. The reasons? Raw materials like silver still cost a pretty penny, and shipping prices aren't slowing down either. One could argue that not much has changed, meaning that perhaps LG saw the writing on the wall relatively early.

LG doesn't shy away from dropping products. Back in 2025, the company quit the electric vehicle charging business after just three years. It pulled the plug (pun intended) when the demand for EV charging equipment didn't skyrocket as projected, and price competition got a bit out of hand (much in the same way as with solar panels).

A similar thing happened with legacy technologies. Quitting dying markets makes a bit more sense, but consumers were disappointed when LG stopped producing Blu-Ray players in 2024. However, LG remains open to reentering production if the demand returns, so there's still some hope, at least. While dropping optical is understandable, LG stopped producing smartphones, a market which makes the adjective "hot" seem like an understatement.

Well, the growing competition is one of the major factors behind the decision. The market got too competitive, and LG was struggling to catch up, so much so that its phones barely made a dent. While Samsung sold 256 million units in 2020, LG moved only 28 million. As a result, LG's mobile division was operating at a loss that amounted to nearly $4.5 billion after about six years. Think of it as a justified mercy killing that happened after years on life support.