As part of its ambition to sell more than 10 million Pixel phones this year, Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOGL.O) Google has instructed suppliers to begin building its smartphones in India by the earliest possible quarter, according to a story published in the Nikkei newspaper on Thursday.
Google announced in October of last year that it would begin producing smartphones in India and that its flagship Pixel 8 would be on sale in 2024, with a greater emphasis on a crucial growing region.
A person with firsthand knowledge of the situation was cited in the Nikkei story, which stated that the move will also assist Google in diversifying its supply chain away from China.
According to the report, which cited several insiders, the tech giant will set up manufacturing lines for its high-end Pixel 8 Pro smartphones in the upcoming weeks and begin making phones in the April–June quarter.
The story did not specify how many phones Google intends to produce in India or whether they will be sold domestically or abroad.
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by Google.
