Xiaomi announced the opening of three more smartphone plants in India. Xiaomi has also started manufacturing smartphones at its power bank plant in partnership with Hipad Technology in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, resulting in a total of six smartphone manufacturing plants in India to date.
Marking a significant move in Xiaomi’s localization strategy, the company also announced its first SMT (Surface Mount Technology) plant dedicated towards local manufacturing of PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) units in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, in partnership with Foxconn.
Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi Global and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said: “Xiaomi’s high-quality, well-designed products at honest prices have been instrumental in disrupting the Indian smartphone industry. In 2015 we extended our long-term commitment to the Indian market by joining the ‘Make in India’ programme. Today we are deepening this commitment with three more smartphone factories and our first SMT plant dedicated towards local manufacturing of PCBA units. Xiaomi is one of the pioneers in the country to start local assembly of PCBAs, and I believe we will continue to play a key role in transforming India into a global manufacturing hub.”
Xiaomi made these announcements at its first ever Supplier Investment Summit in India today where the company is hosting over 50 global smartphone component suppliers to educate them about the Indian manufacturing ecosystem, with the aim of helping them to set up local manufacturing units in India. If all the suppliers set base in India, this would lead to one of the biggest ever single investment in the electronic manufacturing industry, creating a big pool of jobs. It would potentially bring in an added investment of over 15,000 crore rupees ($2.5 billion) and create as many as 50,000 job opportunities in India.
The flag off ceremony of the summit today was attended by several dignitaries such as Sh. Amitabh Kant (CEO, Niti Aayog), Sh. Ramesh Abhishek (Secretary of DIPP) and Sh. Deepak Bagla (CEO, Invest India). Day 1 of the summit also saw representation from Sh. Nara Lokesh (Minister of Information Technology, Govt of AP), Dr. Dinesh Sharma (Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh), Sh. Sanjiv Saran (Additional Chief Secretary of IT & Elec, Govt of UP), Mr Josh Foulger (Country Head & MD, Foxconn), Mr Changxing Wan(Country Head, Hipad India), and Mr Pankaj Mohindroo (Chairman, Indian Cellular Association).
Xiaomi announced in 2015 that it was going to manufacture its devices locally in India, in a show of commitment to Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Its first smartphone plant was built in partnership with Foxconn in 2015, followed by its second plant in March 2017, and its first powerbank plant (in partnership with Hipad Technologies) in November 2017. To date, over 95% of Xiaomi smartphones sold in India are made in India.
The three new smartphone plants, built in partnership with Foxconn, are located across campuses in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh and a new campus in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu with a total campus area of 180 acres. The factories with Foxconn now employ more than 10,000 people, of which more than 95% are females. Additionally, all of the assembly work is done by women. The new factories will result in an increased production capacity of two smartphones/second during operational hours.
With the first SMT plant dedicated towards local manufacturing of PCBA units in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Xiaomi has also become one of the pioneers in the country to start local assembly of PCBAs. PCBA is one of the most important components of the smartphone, and contributes to nearly 50% of the value of the phone. Xiaomi expects to ramp up its PCBA production to close to 100% of its locally produced phones within Q3 CY 2018.
The supplier summit starts today and continues till 11 April, 2018. The component suppliers will be visiting the states of Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh to explore and learn about investment opportunities in India, incentives offered by Center and State governments, FDI policy, industrial policy and various state sector specific policies. The objective of the summit is to educate Xiaomi’s global component suppliers about India’s smartphone industry and encourage them to establish local bases in the country.
Manu Jain, Vice President, Xiaomi Global and Managing Director, Xiaomi India said: “We are extremely glad to host the first ever Supplier Investment Summit in India. We believe that this will help our suppliers assess and expand the manufacturing base in the country. It will also contribute towards investment and job opportunities and help boost the overall economy of the country.”
Xiaomi has grown to become the number one smartphone player in India over the past three years, with an overall market share of 26.8% as per Q4 IDC Quarterly Smartphone Tracker, 2017. Xiaomi is also the number one player in the online smartphone segment with 57% market share and the number two smartphone player in the offline space with 11.2% market share as per Q4 IDC Quarterly Smartphone Tracker, 2017.
