Gionee to set up manufacturing base in North India

KOLKATA: Chinese mobile handset maker Gionee is scouting for land in North India for setting up its manufacturing base in the country, a top company official said today.

"We are looking 50-70 acres land in North India, preferably in or around NCR for our manufacturing plant," the company's regional director Timir Baran Acharyya said here on the sidelines of the launch of its Marathon series smartphone M5 Plus.

He said the company has lined up Rs 300 crore over the next three years for the 10 million units manufacturing plant that will make products for both the domestic and international markets.

Gionee sells around 23 million handsets annually worldwide.

Consultant EY is advising the company on the project.

Gionee sources about 30-40% of the handsets sold in the country from two domestic vendors, while the rest are imported.

Acharyya said the company had been investing heavily on strengthening its network and sales force. In the current fiscal, it is aiming at three-fold growth in sales to Rs 9,000 crore.

"Since last year, we have been creating infrastructure across the country and will continue to do so. We'll have 500 exclusive brick-and-mortar large format experience zones from 45 now," he said.

Gionee said it is confident of garnering a healthy market share in the high-end smartphones segment on the back of quality, innovation and customer interface.

"We aim to have a market share of 10 per cent shortly in smartphones from 4.5 per cent now," Acharyya said.

Marathon M5 Plus, introduced in December 2015 in China, comes equipped with a 5020 mAh battery, along with a host of other features.