Make in India: Xiaomi opens new smartphone plants in India
Furthering its commitment to 'Make in India' initiative, Xiaomi has announced the opening of three new smartphone factories in India. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer is also setting up its first Surface Mount Technology (SMT) plant to locally manufacture printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) units in India. Xiaomi now has six smartphone manufacturing plants in India, its biggest market after China. Here's more.
Xiaomi's first-ever PCB manufacturing unit in India
A PCB is a key component of the smartphone and constitutes nearly 50% of the phone's value. Hence, by manufacturing it locally, Xiaomi is looking to save costs. The company says that by Q3 2018, nearly all of its locally-assembled phones will come with India-made PCBs. Notably, earlier this month, Indian government imposed a 10% tax on import of smartphone components including PCBs.
Xiaomi's state of the art PCBA unit in Tamil Nadu
Xiaomi partners with Foxconn to boost local manufacturing
Xiaomi is setting up these new smartphone plants in partnership with Foxconn. All three factories are located across campuses in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh while the PCB manufacturing unit is located in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. Currently, the factories with Foxconn employ more than 10,000 people, out of which more than 95% are women workers.
Xiaomi and Foxconn join hands for 'Make in India'
Xiaomi looks to lead from the front
"Xiaomi's high-quality, well-designed products at 'honest prices' have been instrumental in disrupting the Indian smartphone industry. I believe we will continue to play a key role in transforming India into a global manufacturing hub," said Manu Jain, VP Xiaomi (Global) and Managing Director, Xiaomi India.
Xiaomi also wants its component suppliers to manufacture in India
Xiaomi announced the opening of new manufacturing units at its Supplier Investment Summit. The event, which was attended by over 50 electronics component suppliers, was initiated to help these suppliers set-up local manufacturing units in India. Xiaomi said, "If all the suppliers set base in India, this would potentially bring in an added investment of over Rs. 15,000 crore and create 50,000 job opportunities."
