Sony Ericsson to make mobile phones in India

Chennai, Jan 31: Mobile phone major Sony Ericsson today announced plans to manufacture mobile phones in India with its global outsourcing manufacturing partners Flextronics and Foxconn.

This was announced by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications President Miles Flint in the presence of Union IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran at a press conference here.

The annual production capacity in India is expected to touch ten million by 2009, Mr Flint said and added that the company have manufacturing agreements with Flextronics and Foxconn, who have set up their units at the SEZ in Sripeumbudur, about 40 km from here.

''Initially the focus will be to manufacture basic colour phones and mid-level music enabled phones, to cater to the domestic market.

In addition to competitive pricing, these phones will offer customised features for the Indian market, such as local content and customised keypads'', he added.

''It's an extension of the existing relations with Flextronics and Foxconn, who are manufacturing mobile phones for Sony Ericsson in China and Malaysia'', he said and added that these two firms would manufacture mobile phones on the design and specifications stipulated by Sony Ericsson.

Since its establishment in India in 2002, Sony Ericsson has built strong brand awareness and has significantly expanded its geographic presence with distribution partners. Today, Sony Ericsson is amongst the top 3 GSM handset players in the country.

Stating that the sales of Sony Ericsson has tripled last year with the market share growing from six per cent to nine per cent, Mr Flint said the decision to manufacture in India was part of company's strategic decision to increase its presence in important growth markets. ''With a GSM subscriber base of 105.4 million, India is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world, and forms a priority growth market for Sony Ericsson worldwide'', he added.

Describing Sony Ericsson's decision to manufacture mobile phone units in India as a great accomplishment for the growing telecom industry in the country, Mr Maran said with this all the top five mobile phone majors -- Nokia, LG, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson - have set up their base in India.

Stating that seven million telecom subscribers were being added every month, Mr Maran said the subscriber base was expected to touch the 200 million mark by the end of February and the tele-density to go up from 18 per cent to 20 to 23 per cent by the end of this year.

UNI