Google Chooses Dixon as Second Contract Manufacturer for Pixel Phones in India

Mumbai, Nov 30, 2024: In a significant move, Taiwanese original design manufacturer Compal Electronics and Indian electronics contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies have announced a partnership to manufacture Google Pixel smartphones in India. This collaboration marks Google's efforts to boost its market share in the second-largest smartphone market globally and challenge larger competitors like Apple and Samsung in the high-end smartphone market.

Dixon is now Google's second contracted manufacturer in India, with production currently taking place at Wow Tech, a Foxconn subsidiary, in Chennai. Dixon Technologies holds an 1.81% stake in LIC, as per the shareholding data as of September 2024 on BSE.

Commenting on the partnership, Atul B. Lall, Vice Chairman of Dixon Technologies stated, "This is a significant opportunity for us and marks an exciting step in our growth commitment to deliver cutting-edge, high-quality products to the domestic and global market."

Aurangabad-based Padget Electronics, a fully owned subsidiary of Dixon Technologies, will produce the high-end smartphones. Compal Technologies, based in Taiwan, is a global manufacturing partner of Google.

The move comes as India's luxury smartphone market continues to expand rapidly. According to market trackers, as of Q3 2024, Google's Pixel phones compete for less than 1% share in the Indian market. However, experts anticipate that this will increase threefold by 2025 due to aggressive channel expansion and high consumer interest in generative AI.

"With Dixon on board, Google is now expanding its network of contract manufacturers," said an expert. "This partnership will play a critical role in establishing Dixon as a manufacturer of high-end smartphones."

According to reports from The Economic Times, Dixon will produce around 100,000 Pixel phones each month, with 25-30% of them being exported. Google previously announced that it was distributing domestically produced Pixel smartphones in India, starting with the Google Pixel 8.

This move marks a significant shift for Google as it decides to distribute its high-end smartphones from within India. In August, Google declared that it had begun manufacturing its newly-distributed Pixel phones from India, marking a departure from its earlier reliance on Asian nations for smartphone production.