Make in India: itel Mobile to manufacture smartphones in India by 2017

itel Mobile, which is owned by China-based Transsion Holdings, has announced plans to set up an integrated industrial park to manufacture handsets in India. The manufacturing unit will be set up by August 2017. However, the company has not yet finalised the location to set up the unit. The company is also considering the possibility of setting up the facility in Gujarat.

According to itel Mobile India's CEO Sudhir Kumar, the firm is already a leading handset brand in the African continent and it had acquired 8% market share in the sub-Rs 8,000 segment in India within just five months of its launch in May.

"Africa is a huge market for us. In addition, we are getting very good response in India ever-since our launch in May. Now, we are planning to set up an industrial park to manufacture mobile phones on a very large scale to meet our domestic as well as overseas demands in Africa," Kumar said. He told reporters that the integrated park will also have units of partner vendors, who will manufacture various components, such as phone camera.

"Since we also want to export handsets to Africa, we are searching for a suitable place near a port. Since Gujarat is having several ports, this state is one of our options. However, we will take a final call about the location after our feasibility report arrives. We want to operationalise the park by July or August, 2017," he added.

Kumar along with other top officials launched itel's new smart-phone "it1520″. According to Kumar, itel Mobile had sold around 40 lakh handsets after its launch. Last month, the budget handset maker sold over 14 lakh handsets in India.

"itel is into handsets priced below Rs 8,000. At present, we command 8% market share in that segment. We are eyeing 20% share by the end of 2017. To make our industrial park viable, we need to churn out around 2 lakh handsets per day," said Kumar, adding no decision is taken yet about the required investment for the park.

-PTI