Handset maker Gionee to start manufacturing in India

Much in line with the government's 'Make in India' programme, Gionee India is gearing up to start manufacturing handsets in the country and will invest $50 million in the next three years.

The company will manufacture the handsets at Dixon Technologies and Foxconn facilities, based in Delhi-NCR and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.

'''Make in India' as an initiative gives an opportunity to not only take Gionee as brand ahead but also to be actively able to participate in the growth of our economy through various touch points. We are happy to have partnered with the best in business including Foxconn and Dixon and sure that this step will prove to be instrumental in the brands future,'' said Arvind R. Vohra, country chief executive officer and managing director at Gionee India.

Foxconn will start by manufacturing F Series and P series phones from the existing Gionee Portfolio, while Dixon will be making feature phones and other smartphones for Gionee in India. Both the partners will start the production in October and they have a capacity of more than 1.2 million handsets per month.

''India market is second home market to Gionee after China and the investment in India manufacturing is just another step in a lineup of much more to come for the Indian market and customers,'' Gionee President William Lu said.

Gionee will also increase the investment in R&D in India that will work on the software to give better consumer experience. This team will work on the Gionee user interface, Amigo to make it much more customised for Indian Consumers.

Set up in 2002, Gionee Communication Equipment Co is a hi-tech company engaging in mobile device designing, R&D, manufacturing, sales in international markets, and mobile internet application services. Gionee, which ranks no 10 in the world by smartphone market share, had sold over 23 million handsets per year worldwide.