OnePlus Commits To Manufacture In India
India: get ready for some mollycoddling!
OnePlus customers reeling under the dearth of service centers in India, can finally let out a long sigh of relief. The China based company has announced its plan to start manufacturing some of their devices in India; which consequently means that they’ll be setting up centers to support the devices too.
OnePlus has tied up with Foxconn (the Taiwanese company reputed for making Apple products), to start manufacturing its devices in India as early as the end of the current year.
OnePlus announced this partnership on12th October, revealing that the manufacturing will take place in Sri City Integrated Business City in Andhra Pradesh. The 30,000 square feet facility will shoot to put out 500,000 units per month.
During the official announcement held in Bengaluru, Pete Lau, Founder & CEO, OnePlus said “India being one of our biggest markets worldwide, we are committed to a long term sustainable growth path. This move will strengthen our presence and help us step up momentum in India.” He also stated the fact that about a third of the company’s smartphone sales comes directly from the Indian market.
This decision by OnePlus is estimated to generate substantial direct employment of over 1,000 full-time workers. While the company attributes this move as its share in the “Make in India “ campaign initiated by our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to encourage manufacturing in india, the other reason for this decision to start manufacturing locally could be to resolve ongoing supply chain related problems that inhibited the launch of the OnePlus 2.
Plus, India can be a one-stop-shop, which can allow an OEM to have software and hardware design, development, testing and manufacturing all under one roof.
This step by OnePlus is nothing out of the blue — India being one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone markets, is already attracting many handset companies to commence manufacturing here, so as to also tap the unexplored potential of inexpensive skilled labour which would enable the OEM cheaper access to manpower and consumers.
Xiaomi, a business competitor of OnePlus started production of its Redmi 2 Prime handsets in India. Asus, Oppo and Gionee have also announced similar plans.
For Oneplus, India (both rural and urban demographics) has proven to be a golden market, given that most Indians prefer technologically competent yet budget-friendly devices. This gives budget brands an edge — to create products that rly on value-for-money, unlike Apple or Samsung’s flagships, which burn a hole in their pockets, and are thus not their first choice.
When OnePlus One was launched in India, the stir it created could easily be judged by the fact that people paid money to get invites for the phone!
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, has said that it is aiming to develop 10–12 facilities (which will include factories and data centers) in India by 2020, thereby allowing OEMs to offer a comprehensive customer experience with after sales services for their devices in addition to just sales.
India: get ready for some mollycoddling!
Originally published at Chip-Monks.
