Thankfully, it looks like they’ve come up with a solution to this problem and have partnered with a local consumer electronics contract manufacturer, Dixon Technologies, and together, they’re planning to manufacture around 55,000 Mi TV sets every month locally in India. Xiaomi had previously partnered with Foxconn to produce the TVs locally in India and this seems to be their second partnership to up their scale of manufacturing. Xiaomi made its Make in India plans clear stating that they want to try their hand at other consumer electronics too other than just smartphones while they also strive towards increasing the supply of already existing products. The TVs manufactured in partnership with Dixon Technologies should be out in the market by August as the manufacturing process should begin by July in a plant located in Tirupati. The initial phase of production will include the smaller 43 and 32-inch variants and will later expand to other upcoming models as well. As a result of this partnership, Xiaomi also aims to reduce the cost of these TVs as they wouldn’t have to pay surplus import duties. The panels, however, will still be imported from China as India lacks a facility to manufacture them locally. The panels along with other parts will then be assembled in India. Xiaomi is now paying a twenty percent duty on its televisions from China, with an additional 2 percent surcharge. If the company will now produce Mi TVs locally, it will only attract 5 percent import duty with a 1 percent additional surcharge, which will help to bring down the prices. This is a much-required move by Xiaomi which shows they are indeed putting in efforts to increase their supply and match the demands in India. It’s high time they scrap their ‘flash sales’ model and take responsibility to deliver their products to everyone who is ready to buy them, and not a few lucky customers with faster internet and trackpad skills.
