Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, will set up two new mobile manufacturing plants and a television plant in India.
As much as 99 percent of its smartphones and 100 percent of its televisions sold in India will now be manufactured in the country. The company started exporting in small quantities in 2020 to nearby countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal.
At present, the priority for the Indian business is to meet local demand. Once the company reaches 100 percent of the local demand, it will start thinking of further increasing the exports.
One of the two mobile manufacturing plants is already up and running. The company has partnered with DBG India, which is operating the plant in Haryana.
The second plant will be set up by BYD in the state of Tamil Nadu. Having plants in both north and south India will keep the company better positioned to tackle possible lockdowns in either side of the country.
The new television manufacturing facility is being set up in the state of Telangana by Radiant, a Hyderabad-based TV manufacturer.
The company also has two other mobile manufacturing plants in Tamil Nadu, run by Foxconn and Flex, and a TV manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh, run by Dixon Technologies.
A majority of the components in mobile phones, including printed circuit board assembly and sub-boards, back panels, chargers and battery, are being locally manufactured. The company also plans to begin manufacturing camera modules in India from 2021.