Google preparing to shift manufacturing of Pixel smartphones from Vietnam to India

Manufacturing of Pixel smartphones of American technology company Google can be shifted from Vietnam to India. Google’s parent company Alphabet is in talks with its suppliers to increase the manufacturing of these smartphones in India. These smartphones are already being manufactured in the country.

A media report quoted two executives with knowledge of the company’s plans as saying that earlier this month Alphabet had talks with Foxconn and another contract manufacturer about shifting the manufacturing of Pixel smartphones to the country. The report said that the company has also asked its suppliers to do local sourcing of components like fingerprint scanner, battery and charger instead of importing them.

Every month, around 45,000 units of Google’s Pixel smartphones are being manufactured in India. Most of these smartphones are sold in the country. Last year, the company started manufacturing its smartphones in the country with Pixel 8. This report states that Google had already planned to shift the manufacturing of Pixel smartphones to India. This plan is being expedited. After increasing the manufacturing of Pixel smartphones in the country, Google plans to export them to the US. American devices maker Apple has also prepared to increase the manufacturing of iPhones in India. Recently, Apple sent millions of iPhones from India to the US. US President Donald Trump has announced a tariff of up to 145 percent on imports from China. This tariff is 26 percent on India and 46 percent on Vietnam.

The US has also imposed tariffs on many other countries. However, this tariff has been deferred for three months on most countries except China. This will help in increasing manufacturing in India and will make it easier for companies like Apple and Google to sell their smartphones in the US at a lower tariff. However, it is not known how many of Google’s Pixel smartphones will be manufactured in the country.