New Delhi, Oct 20 (KNN) Google announced on Thursday that it will start manufacturing its latest Pixel phones in India in 2024 as it is keen to support the Make in India initiative and plans to make all its products in India and export them over time.

This was said by Rick Osterloh, Google’s senior vice-president and head of devices and services. The company is already in talks to choose a contract manufacturer, and a decision is likely in the next few months.

“We manufacture around the world and have a diversified manufacturing footprint that we’re expanding into India. We’re starting with the Pixel 8 series and eventually intend to make our entire portfolio here in India. Smartphones now are no longer about just one device. It’s about an ecosystem, and we plan to make all of it available here,” Osterloh said at the ninth edition of the Google for India event.

Google’s decision to make its smartphones locally follows the start of its Chromebook production in India earlier this month in partnership with HP.

“Our intent is to manufacture locally for the domestic market, but we’re also looking at expanding that by exporting from here. India is also an enormous market for smartphones, and we want to make sure that we’re as competitive as we can be by making phones locally. This is also an opportunity to diversify our supply chain further,” he added.

Osterloh said Google will continue to hire and grow its engineering team in Bengaluru, which was working on product development, besides working on the design of the Tensor chip powering the Pixel 8 series.

Analysts said the move is a plus for the Make In India initiative, but lifting market share will be a challenge if device prices do not come down, despite the advantages of local manufacturing and not paying 20% in import duties.

“Google’s Make in India initiative for Pixel is a strategic move to establish a strong presence in the competitive smartphone market. Ensuring competitive pricing, aggressive marketing, and robust post-sales support are crucial for Google’s future growth in India,” said Prabhu Ram, head of the Industry Intelligence Group at CMR. 

As of August, Google had a 0.3% share of India’s smartphone market, which had risen only marginally from 0.1% in 2022. Ram noted that prudent pricing could help Pixel gain a foothold in the Indian market.

(KNN Bureau)