Recently, devices such as Nokia 6.3, Nokia 6.4 and an upper mid-ranger Nokia 8.3 which has visited Geekbench. Not only that ultra-affordable Nokia 1.4 might be the company’s next android go smartphone. Now, HMD Global is planning to launch affordable Nokia 5G smartphones in India this year and is planning to make India as its hub for global exports.
HMD Global’s approach to the Indian market in 2021
In an interview with Financial Express, Sanmeet Kochhar, Vice President, HMD Global, discussed some of the crucial aspects of Nokia’s approach to the Indian market. Firstly, to increase its sale volume, which was not well last year. They had launched a bunch of lacklustre products, which panned out soon after the launch. The smartphones were outclassed by the Chinese companies which provided much more value for money devices.
Secondly, since the company have successfully raised $230 million worth of investment from Google, Qualcomm and Nokia Technologies last year, they plan to launch affordable 5G devices this year. In addition, the company also promised to keep their software up to date and provide security patches earlier than most smartphone brands.
As per Union Budget 2021, Indian Govt has announced a significant increase in customs duty on some of the raw materials required to build a cellular device. The step was taken so that OEMs are somehow forced to produce components in India, thus strengthening the Make In India initiative. Nokia too plans to follow the same path and plans to make every bit of their component in India. Foxconn has a subsidiary called RSMI which is located in Chennai, manufactures a significant number of devices that Nokia sells in India.
Currently, every smartphones or feature devices launch in recent times has been Made in India. During the interview, Sanmeet Kochhar expressed that since there is a significant increase in various components, the governments need to come up with a solution so that the end-user doesn’t have to suffer during the pandemic.
Other than that, the company is also eyeing India as an Exporting hub. Currently, they are evaluating the possibilities and trying to come up with an appropriate time frame to export good outside the subcontinent.
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