Xiaomi aims to double device exports from India to 700 million by 2034

Bengaluru: Xiaomi plans to double its device shipments from India in the next decade, the company’s India president Muralikrishnan B. said during a media roundtable organised to mark the Chinese smartphone maker’s completion of a decade in the country.

“Xiaomi India hopes to ship an additional 700 million devices to India over the next decade,” said Muralikrishnan B., president of Xiaomi India, adding that in the 10 years to 2023, it has shipped 350 million devices, of which 250 million are smartphones.

The company is in the process of scaling up smartphone manufacturing and assembly in India. It aims to source 55% of its non-semiconductor smartphone parts locally in India in the next two years, Muralikrishnan said.

Xiaomi ended 2023 as the fourth-best-selling smartphone brand in India, according to market researcher IDC India. The smartphone maker’s shipments fell 29% last year. Xiaomi has had a significant presence in India since entering the market in 2014, thanks to its affordable smartphone offerings and rural penetration.

The head of the Indian smartphone maker said the company is also considering focusing on ₹price range from 10,000 to 15,000 upwards ₹Team 10,000.

“Inflation and rising component prices have pushed up smartphone prices,” the Xiaomi India chief said. “Entry-level smartphone users are also not willing to compromise,” Muralikrishnan added, citing the needs of entry-level smartphone users who need advanced features at affordable prices.

Referring to the issue of the possibility of paying for a smartphone in instalments over 36 months and the issue of unsecured consumer financing for smartphone buyers, Murali emphasised that the central bank does not share the view on such financing.

“The Reserve Bank of India also takes a grim view of the growth of such unsecured consumer finance and that is a fair approach,” Muralikrishnan said

Focus on AI

The company’s India boss said the focus should be on artificial intelligence (AI) and how it can make the smartphone more useful for customers.

Citing an AI use case, Murali said smartphones could charge based on a person’s sleep time to save battery life. He added that AI could enable cell phones to make decisions and connect to cell towers while driving to optimize battery life.

Murali said the company needs to meet the aspirations of users who want premium features in smartphones, and that was one of the areas of focus for the rest of the year, while also emphasizing localization of the smartphone supply chain. He said he was not aware of whether the Beijing-based company plans to list its unit in India.

Xiaomi is seeking to increase India’s share in its supply chain and even smartphone production following pressure from the federal government in this direction.

India Expansion Strategy

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former minister of state for electronics and IT, had said in May 2023 that the Chinese smartphone maker had entered into a partnership with Noida-based manufacturing firm Dixon Technologies, which assembles and exports smartphones.

According to Mint Dixon is reportedly in the process of building a 1 million square foot assembly plant in Noida for Xiaomi, which will produce up to one million smartphones per month.

The company’s sales fell after leading the market for five consecutive quarters through the end of 2022. The company has now launched a three-year plan to rebuild its market share across product categories.

The company’s three-year strategy in India is to focus on online and offline sales, create a complete device ecosystem and achieve profitability in premium categories.

Xiaomi is completing a decade of presence in India, even as Chinese companies operating in the country have been under the radar of Indian law enforcement amid concerns over tax evasion and money laundering.

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating Vivo for suspected money laundering and has alleged that Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi have evaded paying taxes, including customs duties and GST, totalling Rs. ₹9,000 crore between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2023.