Panasonic announced business expansion of its Smartphone products in Europe starting from March 2012, according to a December 12, 2011 report by Japan Today. Panasonic aims to sell 1.5 million Smartphones in the European market in next fiscal year by expanding its product lineup. It is reported that Panasonic plans to use the European market as the stepping stone to the global market, and the company projects to sell nine million Smartphones in global market in fiscal year 2016 ending March 31, 2016.