Follows a similar strategy as Xiaomi.
By Raif Karerat
China-based budget Android smartphone maker OnePlus has announced it will soon begin assembling some of its products in India.
The move, which is part of the government’s Make In India campaign, follows a similar strategy from rival Xiaomi, which started producing its first device in India — the Redmi 2 Prime — in August, according to TechCrunch.
While relatively new to the market, OnePlus landed with a significant splash when it released the highly competitive OnePlus One last year. The follow-up OnePlus Two, which was released this past summer, was priced at $329 and garnered further favorable reviews.
India has emerged as an important market for OnePlus. The company’s attractive phones and competitive pricing resonates well with consumers who are seeking a solid, dependable device at a reasonable price point.
Foxconn, the Taiwan-headquartered manufacturer that is responsible for Apple devices, previously pledged to invest $5 billion in India as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign, which seeks to encourage multinational and domestic companies to manufacture their products in India.
In August, Lenovo announced that it had begun manufacturing Motorola smartphones at a plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, run by Singapore-based contract manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd. The first smartphone manufactured at the facility was the 4G variant of the Motorola Moto E 2nd Generation, reported the Economic Times.
Per the Times of India, one year after the program’s 2014 launch, India has emerged as top destination for Foreign Direct Investment, surpassing both China and the U.S.