Google is reportedly gearing up to make India a major export hub for its flagship Pixel smartphones, targeting markets in Europe and the US.

What Happened: Commercial production of the Pixel will soon kick off through Foxconn and Dixon subsidiary Padget Electronics, following trial runs in Tamil Nadu, Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.

Google will add Dixon to its customer list in the second half of the year via its partnership with Taiwan-based Compal Electronics and it will share production with Foxconn, the sources told the business publication. Dixon Technologies is likely to make the base variant of the smartphone, while Foxconn will produce the Pro variants.

Google is reportedly likely to officially announce the move in the second half of the year, with initial exports aimed at Europe and later the US.

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Commercial production is expected to begin in September, with exports following once stable. Leveraging the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) program, Google plans to export most of the locally produced devices due to low demand in India.

Chief Minister MK Stalin had recently confirmed Foxconn’s involvement in producing Pixel smartphones in Tamil Nadu. Foxconn already has two facilities in Tamil Nadu, including an iPhone assembly unit near Chennai.

In October 2023, Google unveiled plans to manufacture Pixel phones in India, starting with the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, aiming for wider availability across the country by 2024.

Rival Apple has been ramping up production of its iPhones in India, assembling smartphones worth $14 billion (₹1.17 lakh crore) in FY24. The tech giant exported iPhones valued at nearly $2 billion (over ₹16,500 crore) in the first two months of the financial year ending 2025.

Currently, 14% of iPhones are made in India, with plans to increase this to 25% over the next three to four years.

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