If you have a Sharp TV or want to buy one and you need to find out what year the TV model was manufactured, it is not easy, especially for TV models after 2014. The reason for the difficulty in determining the production date is that since 2014, Sharp TVs have been manufactured by different companies. At one point, the brand was licensed, and the TVs were manufactured by OEMs who tried not to advertise this information.
You can find out the model year of your TV by its model number. To do this, you need to find the model number and, in it, the year identifier. The only difficulty is that there are five types of model numbers, depending on the manufacturer of the TV (brand owner) in a certain period.
Sharp TV manufacturers by year
The company’s decision in 2014 to exit the TV assembly business marked a pivotal change. This decision led to the licensing of the Sharp TV brand to third-party companies across various regions. This decision resulted in a diverse landscape of Sharp-branded TVs, with model numbers and manufacturing standards varying significantly depending on the region.
Licensing and Production by Region
Until 2014, Sharp independently produced TVs at its manufacturing facilities.
- USA (2015 – 2018): The Chinese company Hisense was licensed to produce and sell Sharp-branded TVs.
- Europe (2015 – 2018): SKYTEC UMC Management acquired the license for the Sharp brand and assembled televisions using components sourced from OEM manufacturers.
- China, Japan, and other countries in the region (2015-2017): Sharp retained the brand rights, leveraging its strong sales position. Sharp continued its TV production for these markets.
Acquisition by Foxconn and Brand Reconsolidation
Acquisition of Sharp Corporation by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (Foxconn) in 2016 marked the beginning of a change: Foxconn decided to restore Sharp’s glory as a manufacturer of consumer goods. Led by Foxconn, there was a concerted effort to reconsolidate the Sharp brand, resulting in the rights to the television brand being returned by 2019. This included Hisense paying back the license and purchasing SKYTEC UMC Management, which brought TV production back under Sharp’s direct control.
Standardization and Global Strategy
Following the reacquisition of its brand, Sharp (under Foxconn) embarked on standardizing TV model numbers across all markets, aiming for a unified global product lineup:
- Japan: The standardization process began in 2018.
- USA: Adopted the new model number system in 2020.
- Europe: Implemented the standardized model numbers in 2019.
All Sharp-branded TVs now have a single model numbering system, making it easier for consumers to navigate model numbers. If you are interested in a detailed explanation of Sharp TV model numbers, you can find out in the article “Sharp TV model numbers, explanation.”
Year in the Sharp TV model number, USA
When Sharp stopped producing TVs for the US market in 2014, the transition saw the introduction of Sharp TVs to the US market in 2015. These TVs were updated models from other regions, especially Japan and China. These TVs had Japanese model numbers, distinguishing them from regular American models.
Additionally, some 2014 Sharp TV models were re-released in 2015 with new model numbers. 2015, no new Sharp TVs were explicitly produced for the US market. Sharp TV’s US offerings 2015 consisted of rebranded or imported models tailored for the US market.
Table of year identifiers in the model number of Sharp TVs for the USA:
| LC-60LE640U | LC-43N7000U | 4T-C65FS1UR |
| 1 – 2009 2 – 2010 3 – 2011 4 – 2012 5 – 2013 6 – 2014 7 – 2015 | Q – 2018 P – 2017 N – 2016 | G – 2024 F – 2023 E – 2022 D – 2021 С – 2020 B – 2019 A – 2018 |
Year in the Sharp TV model number, Europe
In Europe, Sharp TV model numbers changed between 2015 and 2018, when SKYTEC UMC owned the brand. Historically, model numbers had a slightly abbreviated form for Europe. Therefore, the European division of Sharp decided to continue this trend. In the latest version of the number, starting in 2019, there is no screen resolution designation in the model numbers.
Table of year identifiers in the model number of Sharp TVs for the Europe:
| LC-60LE640U | LC-55CUG8462KS | 4T-C65FS1UR |
| 1 – 2009 2 – 2010 3 – 2011 4 – 2012 5 – 2013 6 – 2014 7 – 2015 | I – 2018 G – 2017 F -2016 Е –2015 | G – 2024 F – 2023 E – 2022 D – 2021 С – 2020 B – 2019 A – 2018 |
Year in the Sharp TV model number, Japan
In Japan, Sharp continued to produce televisions until 2017. Using the standard designation for the release date of the TV model. And in 2018, a transition was made to a standardized designation, adopted in the updated Sharp under the leadership of Foxconn.
Table of year identifiers in the model number of Sharp TVs for the Japan:
| LC-40H9 LC-52UD20 | 4T-C65FS1UR |
| 1 – 2004 2 – 2005 3 – 2006 4 – 2007 5 – 2008 6 – 2009 7 – 2010 8 – 2011 9 – 2012 10 – 2013 20 – 2014 30 – 2015 40 – 2016 50 – 2017 | G – 2024 F – 2023 E – 2022 D – 2021 С – 2020 B – 2019 A – 2018 |
