Chinese smartphone maker Gionee on Saturday launched ElIFE S7 in India and underlining the importance of the Indian smartphone market, aims to set up a manufacturing facility in India with an investment of Rs 300 crore in the next three years, thus signalling its support to the 'Make In India' campaign.
Speaking at the launch event, Gionee President William lu said that the company's committed to the 'Make In India' campaign and will soon start manufacturing in India. "Our goal of market growth in India is 100 per cent. In the future, we also intent to export from India and make India an export hub," he said. When asked about the company's manufacturing plans, Gionee India CEO and MD Arvind R Vohra told The Pioneer that two locations have been identified for setting up manufacturing units in the country.
The company has roped in consultancy firm Ernst & Young to advise on partners and potential locations across the country. "Ernst & Young is working to decide the best place for the manufacturing plant to be set up and also about the feasibility of the location as far as local resources are concerned. (Its) next report will be out in four weeks and then our team from China will arrive to take the final decision (on finalising the locations)," Vohra told The Pioneer.
The company will invest Rs 300 crore in the next three years for setting up manufacturing base in the country, which will cater to the domestic market as well as to markets in SAARC and Nigeria, he added. Gionee has also earmarked a budget of Rs 225 crore for marketing and advertising, up from Rs 132 crore last year. The company will begin with manufacturing entry-level devices, Vohra said. The company claims to have sold 4 million devices in India in FY15 and now hopes to double its sales in 2015-16. India is already the second biggest market for the Chinese firm.
Gionee ElIFE S7 meanwhile will be available in India in Black, White, and Blue colour at an MOP (market operating price) of Rs 24,999. The smartphone will be available in the offline market after one week. Crafted in aviation level aluminum magnesium alloy,Gionee ElIFE S7 features 5.2" Super AMOlED FHD screen with Gorilla Glass 3rd and has rear & front camera of 13MP and 8MP respectively. The phone supports dual SIM, multi-band and multi-mode such as 4G FDD/TDD lTE and 3G WCDMA.With 2700mAh battery, the handset has 16GB of in-built memory and runs Android 5.0 with Gionee's Amigo 3.0 UI.