Gionee to invest $50 million to make handsets, ropes in Foxconn and Dixon

Chinese smartphone maker Gionee will invest USD 50 million (about Rs 330 crore) over next three years to make handsets in India, joining peers like Xiaomi and Motorola. 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,” it said in a 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. He added that this step will prove to be instrumental in the brand’s future. “India market is 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. 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 per cent to 26.5 million units in April-June, as per research firm IDC. Over the past few months, global smartphone makers like Asus, Oppo and HTC have stated that they are considering manufacturing in India, under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Recently, Chinese firm Xiaomi opened its manufacturing facility in partnership with Foxconn in Vishakhapatnam. Last month, Lenovo and Motorola announced that they will start manufacturing smartphones at their factory in Sriperambudur, Chennai. PTI