Xiaomi which already counts India as one its most important market has decided to set up production unit in India according to a report from Reuters.
“We want to invest deeply in this market, we want to have a significant amount of research and development done here — not only for India but the rest of the world. The fundamental point is we want to build deeply rooted Indian products because this is a hugely important market for us and there is nothing more powerful than being a local business,”
Hugo Barra, Xiaomi’s vice president of international operations told Reuters.
The Chinese smartphone maker is looking forward to invest and begin local production within 12 to 18 months in the country, said the report. Barra did not mention how much Xiaomi is eyeing to invest in India which is its largest market outside China, but the company is looking to put money into start-ups and rolling out service centers. In addition to the production unit, the company will also open 100 ‘experience stores’ in the country that will help the customers experience devices. These stores will not sell any units.
In January this year, a PTI report stated that Xiaomi will set up first R&D unit in Bangalore and was in the process of signing the lease for the center. Yesterday, Xiaomi unveiled the MiPad and RedMi 2 in India.