OnePlus is reportedly working towards establishing its manufacturing in India. According to a report from ET, the company is in talks with domestic equipment manufacturers to source components of its upcoming devices. This move is to reduce the import costs and duties, which may later lead to phones from OnePlus getting cheaper in future.
This is not the first time when OnePlus is considering making phones in India, it first announced the plan back in 2015. Since India is a key market for the company, so strategically, now is the right time to advance in this direction. We have seen many brands focusing on domestic manufacturing of products.
This move comes soon after the Indian Government announced a hike of 20% on mobile parts. So, OnePlus is basically figuring ways to tackle the situation and reduce these costs to sustain in a competitive market like India. Also, the new government policies on duties and taxes will be in favour of local producers.
Vikas Agarwal, OnePlus’ India GM, told ET that the company’s local unit is already assembling the the entire portfolio in India, but the aim is to move deeper into the ‘Make in India’ strategy.
We recently reported 6% price hike by Apple for iPhones in India, which is one example of how the prices of smartphones is affected by the raise in import duty. In contrast, the iPhone SE, which is assembled locally, has not been affected by the hike.
This move will be crucial for OnePlus as India is the biggest market for its smartphones. India accounted for over 35% of its global sales of $1.4-billion in 2017. It would be interesting to see how OnePlus approaches the policy changes to keep the ‘value for money’ perception of the brand alive in India.
