Premium smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is planning to headcount at its R&D center in India by five times as the company looks to make the manufacturing facility in India its largest globally in the next three years. Currently, the research and development center has an employee strength of 100 at present.
“We have recently opened up a OnePlus R&D center in Hyderabad. This will become the largest OnePlus center globally in the next three years. Looking forward to India R&D center, you can expect 300-500 people to be part of the team,” OnePlus Founder and CEO Pete Lau told PTI here.
India is one of the world’s largest OnePlus markets, accounting up for around 33 percent of its global revenue, Lau said. According to Counterpoint research, OnePlus has emerged as the best-selling premium smartphone brand of 2018 and has been leading the premium smartphone segment (priced over ₹30,000 a unit) for three consecutive quarters capturing 36 percent of the market in October-December 2018.
Lau said the company would be among the firsts to introduce a 5G-ready smartphone globally in the second quarter and look for the availability of next-generation networks in India at the earliest. OnePlus has already announced that it would be taking 5G trials in India in a collaboration with Qualcomm.
With the demands of OnePlus phone increasing rapidly, the company is looking forward to upscaling the manufacturing in India as well as encouraging component makers and other supply chain vendors of its premium smartphones to set up base in India.
“As the largest OEM (original equipment maker) in the premium segment, we very much want to and see ourselves as having the influence to help bring supply chain for build out of premium flagship devices to make that supply chain more complete. That’s good for OnePlus and India and the entire industry. As our supply chain is further developed, we will then be interested in exploring the opportunity for export,” Lau said.
Currently, OnePlus uses Oppo Mobiles factory to manufacture its devices in India and claims that all the devices sold in India are manufactured locally.
Talking about the company’s expected growth in India and its plan around encashing growth projections with the advent of 5G, Lou said that growth is something that can not be forecast but t is a result of performance and action.
A counterpoint report said that OnePlus is also the fastest growing premium smartphone brands annually, growing at 85 percent year-by-year and driving the growth of the entire premium smartphone segment.
ALSO READ:
- Vivo iQOO launches its first Smartphone with Snapdragon 855, 4D Shock Feature and More
- Oppo R17 Pro price Slashed By ₹6000, Now Starts at ₹39,990 on Amazon
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Barely Survives Durability and Bend Test: JerryRigEverything