Chennai: Alphabet Inc., led by Sundar Pichai, will begin manufacturing its flagship Pixel smartphones in Tamil Nadu, confirmed Chief Minister MK Stalin. The tech giant, in partnership with Foxconn, plans to produce Pixel phones and may expand into drone manufacturing. This move follows Google's 2023 announcement to produce Pixel 8 smartphones in India, aligning with shifts by Apple and Samsung to increase production.
Alphabet Inc., led by Sundar Pichai, is set to manufacture its flagship smartphones in Tamil Nadu, announced Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday. In addition to Pixel phones, the company is reportedly considering manufacturing drones through the unit, as per reports.
Alphabet Inc. aims to produce Pixel phones within the state by establishing new production facilities in collaboration with Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer. Moreover, its subsidiary Wing may start assembling drones in Tamil Nadu.
Following a visit by a state delegation, including Industries Minister Rajaa and Foxconn executives, to the US where they met senior Google officials in Mountain View, California, the tech giant has expressed interest in setting up a plant near Chennai.
Currently, Foxconn and Pegatron handle over 80 percent of the $14 billion worth of Apple's iPhone assembly in the state of Tamil Nadu. Alongside Tata's electronics operations and component ecosystem, Tamil Nadu leads India’s mobile phone manufacturing sector.
In 2023, Google announced its plans to begin manufacturing Pixel 8 smartphones in India, although it did not specify the exact location. Similarly, Apple has relocated a portion of iPhone production from China to India, while Samsung Electronics Co. has also established assembly operations in the country.
Victory for Make in India?
ET reported earlier that Dixon Technologies will also manufacture Google Pixel 8 in India. Dixon aims to produce 100,000 Pixel units monthly, with plans to export 25-30 percent of them as it seeks to expand its market presence in India, the world's second-largest smartphone market. According to executives, the Pixel 8 model constitutes nearly 80 percent of all Pixel sales in India.
In recent years, India has stepped up measures to manufacture electronic items such as smartphones through the Narendra Modi government's flagship Production-linked Incentive scheme.
Counterpoint Research estimated Google Pixel's share in the Indian smartphone market at 0.04 percent during the March 2024 quarter.
"Google is estimated to register healthy growth of 30 percent annually in 2024 owing to two reasons -- Google has started manufacturing its entire series domestically, which will help it save in import duties and sell cost-effectively," said Neil Shah, VP Research, Counterpoint Research.
"Secondly, the growing premiumization trend will work in favor of Google boosting growth for the only devices with flagship Android experiences in the market supported by strong ATL promotions."
India, a Manufacturing Hub
Through the scheme, India is attempting to lure manufacturers away from China and position itself as a manufacturing hub.
Quoting a Capgemini Research Institute report released in May, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that India figures at the top of the list of investment destinations for senior executives in Europe and in
Quoting a Capgemini Research Institute report released in May, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently said that India figures at the top of the list of investment destinations for senior executives in Europe and in the US, who are looking to reduce their dependence on China and shift part of their manufacturing capacity to emerging markets.
Sixty-five percent of nearly 760 executives surveyed have said that they plan to increase investments significantly in India.
From 78 percent import dependence in 2014, she said, today 99 percent of all mobiles sold in India are made in India.
Value addition in electronics and smartphone manufacturing has also grown significantly and crossed 20 percent from the negligible level of 2014-15, she said.
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