Make in India: Asus announces Zenfone smartphones will be made locally

After a series of announcements by device manufacturers, Taiwanese company Asus has announced that its Zenfone range of smartphones will be manufactured at Sricity, Andhra Pradesh.In an official statement by Asus, Peter Chang, Regional Head – South Asia & Country Manager – System Business Group – Asus India said, “India offers us a huge opportunity as smartphone penetration is just 10%. We are excited to announce our local manufacturing facility that will cater to the growing demands of the market.”According to Chang, the move by the Indian government to focus on manufacturing in India has opened a plethora of opportunities for international companies. He believes this enables companies to bring in cutting edge products to consumers who are looking for features and design sensibilities of a high-end smartphone at an economic price.Effectively, Asus will locally manufacture smartphones in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. In a strategic move to expand presence in India, ASUS will kick-start its manufacturing operations with Zenfone 2 Laser which will soon be followed by ZenFone Go. The company aims to manufacture 150,000 smartphones per month by the end of the current financial year which will account for almost 80% of sales in India.The company also announced it was getting into a partnership with Foxconn to manufacture the Zenfone line of smartphones in India. Initially, the Sricity facility will manufacture the Zenfone 2 Laser. Over a period of time, Asus expects to manufacture the other devices in the Zenfone lineup to be manufactured in India as well.