By Gursimran Kaur
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google has told suppliers to start making its Pixel smartphones in India by next quarter at the earliest, as part of its plan to ship more than 10 million Pixel phones this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Thursday.
Google would start manufacturing smartphones in India and its flagship Pixel 8 will be available in 2024, it said last October, as it focuses more on a key growth market.
The move will also help Google diversify its supply chain away from China, the Nikkei report said, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The tech giant will prepare production lines for its high-end Pixel 8 Pro smartphones in the coming weeks and start producing phones in the April-June quarter, the report added, citing multiple sources.
The report did not say how many phones Google plans to manufacture India nor if the phones will be for sale in the country or for exports.
Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
