OnePlus CEO Pete Lau announced in Bangalore, India, today that the smartphone maker will begin manufacturing devices locally in partnership with Foxconn.
The company will begin assembling devices for the Indian market in Foxconn’s facility in the state of Andhra Pradesh by the end of this year. Foxconn, which manufactures Apple devices in China, has also signed up to build products for Asus and Xiaomi.
The move is supported by Make In India, a program initiated by the central government to spur manufacturing in the country.
If you’re hoping for an easier way to buy OnePlus devices in India, you’ll have to wait. The company noted that demand continues to outstrip supply in the country, so it wants to keep sales under control through its invitation system for a while to come.
Manufacturing devices locally will help the company avoid some import duties. OnePlus India general manager Vikas Agarwal said that it’s likely that those savings could translate to lower prices for customers in India in the near future, as well as quicker availability after devices are launched.
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It has sold 250,000 units of its OnePlus One handset in India in the 10 months that it’s been doing business in the country. CEO Pete Lau noted that in today’s local open sale, about 15,000 OnePlus 2 units sold in roughly 12 minutes.
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