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Xiaomi, Foxconn open phone factory in Andhra Pradesh
JAVED ANWER | | VISHAKHAPATNAM, AUGUST 10, 2015 | UPDATED 14:32 IST
Xiaomi, along with its manufacturing partner Foxconn, on Monday announced that it was opening a plant in Sricity, Andhra Pradesh. The plant, which will exclusively assemble Xiaomi phones, is Xiaomi's second manufacturing unit outside China. The first one had earlier come up in Brazil.
Xiaomi said that it was already assembling phones at the new plant and said that the RedMi 2 Prime, an updated version of the popular RedMi 2, would be its first phone to carry "Made In India" sticker. The phone would go on sale today at a price of Rs 6,999.
Also read: Xiaomi launches Redmi 2 Prime in India
While assembling is different from actual manufacturing, it is indeed a big step for Xiaomi and Foxconn to move some of the processes involved in manufacturing of phone outside China.
"The factory at Sricity uses the same processes, has the same standards and does the same work that a Foxconn plant in China does," said Hugo Barra, vice president for international operations at Xiaomi.
Manu Jain, who heads Xaomi's India team, said that the company wanted to be fabric of India. "When we entered India in July last year, we said that we wanted to become the fabric of India. Today's announcement is a part of that thinking. With the plant in Sricity and with the plans to make all Xiaomi phones that are sold in India within the country, we are taking it to the whole new level," said Jain. "We want to build an Indian company. Yes, there are economic benefits of making phones in India but at the same time keeping the manufacturing process closer to Indian users is important."
Jain added that with today's announcement and the Mi4i, a phone that according to Xiaomi was designed specifically for India, the Chinese phone company is as good as an Indian firm. "Xiaomi today has become an Indian company with phones designed in India and manufactured in India," he said.
Currently Xiaomi and Foxconn haven't specified the capacity of the plant in Sricity. But Barra said that the plant has an almost 100-metre long assembly that is modular in nature and can handle increased demand for the RedMi 2 Prime, if required. "We expect the RedMi 2 Prime to be our best selling phone and we are sure that we will be able to meet the demand for it through the Sricity plant," said Barra.
Also read: Xiaomi plans to manufacture phones in India
The Xiaomi vice president also said the local plant in India would help the company in not just keeping the price of its phone low but also become more efficient.
"Due to low distance between warehouse and plant, we will be able to operate with minimal inventory and that will increase the efficiency. Local manufacturing would allow us to become an almost just-in-time business, which is a big deal for a company like Xiaomi," said Barra.
JAVED ANWER | | VISHAKHAPATNAM, AUGUST 10, 2015 | UPDATED 14:32 IST
Xiaomi, along with its manufacturing partner Foxconn, on Monday announced that it was opening a plant in Sricity, Andhra Pradesh. The plant, which will exclusively assemble Xiaomi phones, is Xiaomi's second manufacturing unit outside China. The first one had earlier come up in Brazil.
Xiaomi said that it was already assembling phones at the new plant and said that the RedMi 2 Prime, an updated version of the popular RedMi 2, would be its first phone to carry "Made In India" sticker. The phone would go on sale today at a price of Rs 6,999.
Also read: Xiaomi launches Redmi 2 Prime in India
While assembling is different from actual manufacturing, it is indeed a big step for Xiaomi and Foxconn to move some of the processes involved in manufacturing of phone outside China.
"The factory at Sricity uses the same processes, has the same standards and does the same work that a Foxconn plant in China does," said Hugo Barra, vice president for international operations at Xiaomi.
Jain added that with today's announcement and the Mi4i, a phone that according to Xiaomi was designed specifically for India, the Chinese phone company is as good as an Indian firm. "Xiaomi today has become an Indian company with phones designed in India and manufactured in India," he said.
Currently Xiaomi and Foxconn haven't specified the capacity of the plant in Sricity. But Barra said that the plant has an almost 100-metre long assembly that is modular in nature and can handle increased demand for the RedMi 2 Prime, if required. "We expect the RedMi 2 Prime to be our best selling phone and we are sure that we will be able to meet the demand for it through the Sricity plant," said Barra.
Also read: Xiaomi plans to manufacture phones in India
The Xiaomi vice president also said the local plant in India would help the company in not just keeping the price of its phone low but also become more efficient.
"Due to low distance between warehouse and plant, we will be able to operate with minimal inventory and that will increase the efficiency. Local manufacturing would allow us to become an almost just-in-time business, which is a big deal for a company like Xiaomi," said Barra.
