SUMMARY
This is a part of the company’s plan to ship more than 10 Mn Pixel phones this year
This move is also aimed at diversifying Google’s supply chain away from China
.Though the location of the manufacturing unit is not confirmed, sources informed that the production will take place somewhere in North India
Google is reportedly planning to commence production of its Pixel smartphones in India by the next quarter at the earliest, a move that is expected to expand the tech giant’s market presence and diversify its supply chain.
As per Nikkei Asia’s report, Google will initiate production lines for its high-end Pixel 8 Pro smartphones in the coming weeks. The actual manufacturing of phones is slated to begin in the April-June quarter, with the goal of producing over 10 Mn Pixel units this year.
The move aims to reduce reliance on China and tap into the vast and growing Indian smartphone market.
“Google is not the only tech company that started to look for a ‘China+2’ strategy. That means diversifying away from China into another place is not enough, but suppliers should have multiple non-China options for better supply chain resilience,” the report said, citing a source close to the matter.
Google is likely to prepare production lines for its high-end Pixel 8 Pro in the coming weeks, and start producing phones in the first quarter of FY25.
At the initial stage, only a small volume of phones will be manufactured in India. However, the number of Pixel 8 phones to be manufactured in India is still undisclosed. Also, there is still no clarity on whether the phones will be sold in India or exported.
Last year, the tech giant announced its plans to manufacture Pixel smartphones in India and expects these devices to be rolled out in 2024. Back then, the company said that it would start with Pixel 8, and would partner with international and domestic manufacturers to produce Pixel smartphones locally.
It also said that the country is a priority market for Pixel smartphones and it is committed to bringing the best of its hardware and underlying built-in software capabilities to people across the country.
This comes at a time when Google’s competitors including Samsung, Motorola, Xiaomi, among others are mulling to make and accelerate their smartphone production in India.
