Supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make In India" initiative, China's OPPO Mobiles started producing smartphones in India last year and it is further planning to expand its local production with a much larger manufacturing facility in Greater Noida. In addition to making and selling phones in India, OPPO is planning to export its "made in India" smartphones to international markets.
OPPO's global VP and president of India operations, Sky Li, revealed the company's plans to export OPPO smartphones from India to Middle East, North African and other South Asian countries in the next 2-3 years. The move not only helps OPPO, but also puts India on the map for becoming the next manufacturing hub for other OEMs – a title which belongs to China at the moment.
"In the next 2-3 years, in line with our plan, we will begin exporting the manufactured phones out of India to Middle East, North Africa and other South Asian markets. Currently, the products offered to our Indian consumers are made in India," Li told the Economic Times.
OPPO is paving the new path and taking the "Make in India" initiative to the next level. The company, after all, has a strong presence and a reputable brand image in the smartphone market after ranking fourth with 10 percent share in January-March quarter.
With such big plans in motion, OPPO will need to keep up with the demand. The Chinese tech giant has already initiated an investment in a massive manufacturing plant in Noida. The company has bought a 110 acre land from the Greater Noida Industrial Developmental Authority (GNIDA) for a reported sum of Rs. 145 crore.
OPPO is also planning to invest Rs. 2,000 crore in its new plant, which is said to have 30,000 employees. Li did not comment on the current status of the development of its new manufacturing complex, but he said that it is "still under construction" and an "update at an appropriate time."
In the meantime, OPPO is going to host an event this week, where it will launch the F3 smartphone, which will serve as a smaller variant of the F3 Plus and a successor to the F1s smartphone. The new handset will have dual selfie cameras just like the OPPO F3 Plus among other features. We'll share our review and more details after the device is launched on May 4.
