Modi’s ‘Make in India’ plan has been received well across various sectors. However, if there is one sector that has readily welcomed the concept, it’s none other than the phone manufacturing industry. We have recently seen how Asus, Oppo, HTC, Xiaomi and Motorola have decided to start their manufacturing base in India. Now similarly, Chinese phone maker Gionee will invest USD 50 million (about Rs 330 crore) over next three years to make handsets in India.
The company has partnered global manufacturers Foxconn and Dixon to begin India production.
"Gionee will be investing USD 50 million in the next three years on manufacturing in India. Gionee's 'Make In India' will happen at the facilities of Dixon Technologies and Foxconn which are based at Delhi-NCR and Andhra Pradesh respectively," Gionee said in a press statement.
Foxconn will start this association by manufacturing F Series and P Series phones from the existing Gionee portfolio.
Dixon will be making feature phones and other smartphones for Gionee.
Both the partners will start production in October. They have a capacity of more than 1.2 million handsets per month between them. Gionee said it will also increase investment in its R&D team in India which will work on software to give a better consumer experience.
This team will work on the Gionee UI, named Amigo, to make it much more customised for Indian consumers.
"Make in India as an initiative (announced by the Modi government) gives an opportunity to not only take Gionee as brand ahead but also to be actively able to participate in the growth of our economy through various touch points," Gionee India Country CEO and MD Arvind R Vohra said.
"India markis second home market to Gionee after China and the investment in India manufacturing is just another step in a line up of much more to come for the Indian market and customers," Gionee President William Lu said in the statement.
Established in 2002, Gionee sells over 23 million handsets a year worldwide and ranks number 10 globally by smartphone market share. The move will help the Chinese firm bolster its presence in the burgeoning Indian handset market, which is among the fastest growing globally.India is poised to overtake the US as the second-largest market in the next few years. Shipments in India grew 44 % to 26.5 million units in April-June, as per research firm IDC.