Xiaomi’s CEO mentioned a few days back that the company will be able to become the top smartphone vendor in five to ten years, dethroning Samsung and Apple from the top two positions. However, in order to do that, the company has to expand in more markets, and produce enough smartphones to meet the demand.
According to a new report, Xiaomi may start producing handset in Brazil and India in the next few years. The company had immense success in India, and has been shipping almost 200,000 smartphones a week through charter planes.
This also means that the Chinese OEM may have to put its expansion plans on hold for some time. The company planned to enter 10 new markets this year, but it seems they will only stick with five for now. This means Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Mexico and Turkey will have to wait for some time before they can get their hands on Xiaomi handsets.
This also makes sense since the company sell budget-friendly devices, and importing them to a country like Brazil means they have to incur high import duties and taxes which will also increase the prices. As per the report from Bloomberg, the company aims to start producing handsets in India in the next two years, and Brazil may start a little earlier.
The strategy for Xiaomi is to produce its smartphones in some of the bigger countries where it wants to grow. The company is already in talks with electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group, said Hugo Barra, vice president in charge of global operations, in an interview. Production in India will likely begin in one to two years, and Brazil may start sooner, he said.
Source: Bloomberg, Phonearena
Filed Under: Mobile Phone News