Xiaomi to Make Phones in India, Possibly in Nokia's Chennai Plant

Xiaomi, China's top mobile phone maker, is now looking to make devices in India. And they are probably going to do so in Nokia's plant in Chennai, which is currently lying idle.

The world's third-largest mobile phone vendor seems quite keen to target its second-biggest market.

"We are beginning to explore opportunities for manufacturing in India," Manu Jain, operations head for Xiaomi in India, told Times of India. "India is a big market and we would like to be close to our customers."

Jain however did not confirm any plans related to Nokia's idle Chennai plant. The plant did not go to Microsoft as part of its deal to buy the Finnish phone maker's global devices operations due to pending litigations.

"We have not looked at it," Jain said, refusing to make any confirmation on the matter. He however feels that local manufacturing will help the company to price its devices competitively.

"We are looking at manufacturing from the perspective of cost benefits and taxes," Jain said.

Looking for partners that will help the company price the products competitively is also a priority for Xiaomi. "The devices will be designed by us, in terms of the hardware and software. The partners can help us in the assembly of the devices," Jain added.

Should things go according to plan, it will be the first instance of a top Chinese device maker manufacturing products in India and would boost PM Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

Micromax, the Indian cellphone manufacturer, which only made its products in China, has also started making smartphones in India from April this year.

Xiomi, which had knocked over Korean giant Samsung from its top position as the world's largest smartphone market, has been able to sell around eight lakh devices in India since their launch in July this year.