Taiwanese phone maker ASUS will manufacture smart phones in India. The company is setting up a facility at the Sri City Special Economic Zone in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh with a capacity to manufacture 1.50 lakh phones a month.
Incidentally, Indian mobile manufacturers Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon have entered into an agreement with Andhra Pradesh to set up their manufacturing facilities near Tirupati, which is also in the same district with a likely investment of Rs 750 crore at the proposed Mobile Manufacturing Hub there.
“We are expecting to begin to manufacture 1.50 lakh phones, which will account for about 80 per cent of sales in India,” an ASUS spokesperson has said.
The firm, however, refused to divulge the investments that might go into the facility.
ASUS will start its manufacturing operations with Zenfone 2 Laser phones, which would be followed by ZenFone Go phones.
“ India offers us a huge opportunity as smartphone penetration is just 10 per cent. Our local facility will cater to the growing demands of the market,” Peter Chang, Regional Head (South Asia and Country Manager – System Business Group) of ASUS India has said in a statement here on Thursday.
Chang further added, “We are targeting to achieve 5 per cent market share in the country by next year,” Chang said.
The company recently launched Zenfone Selfie, Zenfone 2 Laser and Zenfone 2 Deluxe in the Indian market.