Google is eyeing moving some production of its Pixel smartphone lineup to India, according to a report, the latest in a series of phonemakers with growing ambitions to locally assemble their handsets in the world’s second largest market.
Like Apple, Google has also been moving some of its manufacturing efforts outside of China. Nikkei Asia reported that Google was also planning to move some Pixel manufacturing to Vietnam.
Google is considering moving some production of Pixel phones to India. This move comes following disruptions in China from COVID-19 lockdown and the country’s rising tensions with the United States. Parent company Alphabet Inc has reportedly invited bids from manufacturers to make between 500,000 and 1 million Pixel smartphones.
According to a report by The Information, Google is aiming to produce 10-20 per cent of the estimated annual production for Pixel. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai reportedly considered a plan for manufacturing in India earlier this year but the final decision is yet to be made, the report said. However, if the approval follows through, India will need to import components from China. Alphabet is also considering Vietnam as an alternative.
The move away from China comes as the Biden administration plans to broaden the curbs on US shipments of semiconductors to China. US companies like KLA Corp, Lam Research Corp and Applied Materials Inc have been forbidden from exporting chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories.
