OnePlus joins 'Make in India' bandwagon; partners Foxconn

New Delhi: Chinese handset company OnePlus on Monday said it has partnered Foxconn to commence local assembly operations in India, which is one of the world's fastest growing smartphone markets.

The first batch of smartphones produced from Foxconn's Sri City facility in Andhra Pradesh will be commercially available by end of this year.

"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 Nara 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.

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.

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.

India is poised to overtake the US as the second-largest market in the next few years. Shipments to 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 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 had announced that they will start manufacturing smartphones at their factory in Sriperambudur, Chennai.