As many as two in three Australians are unaware that many well known TV brands are actually manufactured in China – and many would be concerned over the quality of the unit if they knew.

According to the ‘Consumer Electronics Study’ TNS Global Research, the majority of manufacturers, including leading brands Sony, Panasonic, LG and Samsung, are now assembling most of their TVs in China, whose standards Aussie consumers don’t generally trust.

The study found that 48% of Australians are not aware that most TVs are manufactured in China.

One in two Australians believe that the quality of TVs made in China are not as good as those made in Japan or Korea, while 20% rate the quality of units made in China as poor.

“Currently, consumers perceive Chinese manufactured products to be of inferior quality, be it correct or not. It is a common misconception and, in the case of TVs, an incorrect one. Sets assembled in China are done to the same specifications as those made in countries with better quality reputations,” explained Marcus Pritchard, director of technology research at TNS.

“These preconceived ideas of quality are challenges to the growing ranks of Chinese brands, such as HiSense, entering the Australian market more than to the established credentials of the big players.

The study comes eight months after a series of scandals in the country led to the country’s prime minister, Wen Jaibao, to claim that China’s brand ‘wasn’t poison’.