Make in India: OnePlus teams up with Foxconn to start local production here

Chinese smartphone company OnePlus held an event in Bengaluru today wherein it announced that it has partnered with Foxconn to start local production in India. The company will begin assembling devices for in Foxconn’s facility in the state of Andhra Pradesh by the end of this year. https://twitter.com/OnePlus_IN/status/653501204832481281 During the event, OnePlus announced that over 250,000 units of OnePlus One were sold in India. During the open sale of the OnePlus 2 that happened earlier today on Amazon India, over 15,000 units of OnePlus 2 were sold in 12 minutes. “Producing smartphones in India is one of the most important decisions that we have made so far at OnePlus, and we are thankful to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Foxconn for helping us make this happen,” OnePlus founder and CEO Pete Lau said in a statement.

“India being one of our biggest markets worldwide, we are committed to a long-term sustainable growth path. This move will strengthen our presence and help us step up momentum in India,” he added.

Lau said local production will make the company’s operations more efficient in terms of cost and working capital requirements and also help in making its products available for sale faster than before. Welcoming OnePlus to the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said the aim is to “catapult Andhra Pradesh to become one of the hottest destinations for local manufacturing in India”.

“The Andhra Pradesh government assures all cooperation and support to OnePlus to help them cater to the growing demands in the Indian market,” he added.

https://twitter.com/OnePlus_IN/status/653502074999603201 https://twitter.com/OnePlus_IN/status/653503273417076736 https://twitter.com/OnePlus_IN/status/653507827307147265

Though the company did not disclose the investments made, OnePlus India General Manager Vikas Agarwal said the facility at Foxconn’s Rising Stars factory will have a cumulative peak capacity of producing up to 5 lakh units per month.

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The facility will also generate direct employment of over 1,000 full time workers, he added. The move will help the Chinese firm bolster its presence in the burgeoning Indian handset market, which is among the fastest growing globally.

Given the recent leaks around the OnePlus X, we wonder if the budget device expected from OnePlus will also be Made in India.