Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co., a unit of Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., said it cut the price of flat-panel plasma televisions by an average of $500, effective tomorrow, to increase sales and market share.

With the change, the suggested retail price for the company's best-selling model in the U.S., the 42-inch TH-42PD50U EDTV, will fall to less than $2,000 for the first time, Secaucus, New Jersey- based Panasonic said today in a statement.