India 2nd largest mobile market for Nokia

” Out of 185 million mobile phone users in India, 85 million use Nokia phones”. ya that makes india 2nd largest mobile market for nokia. World’s largest mobile phone maker Nokia today announced that India has become its second largest market in terms of sales, going past the US in the quarter ended June 2007. Nokia had expected India to overtake the US as its second biggest sales market after China by 2010. Over the last three years, India has been gaining significant ground year-on-year moving from fourth position in 2005 to third position in 2006, and is today poised right behind China.

Nokia India:

Nokia also announced that it has started exporting to 58 countries from its Sriperumbudur, Chennai manufacturing plant, which has reached production volumes of 60 million handsets. Almost 50 per cent of the locally manufactured mobile phones are being exported. India has now become a key hub for Nokia and its indian operation have grown substantially since 2004 when it employed just 450 people. The company currently employs over 9,000 people and has 95,000 outlets with 50,000 exclusive Nokia brand stores. The Chennai manufacturing plant alone employs 4,700 people, 70% of which are women. Nokia Telecom Park has received investments of $500 million (around Rs 2,043 crore) with seven global component manufacturers

Nokia Siemens Networks, the world’s third-biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, will set up a center for global clients in India, and invest $100 million in the nation over the next three years. Nokia had also recently set up its first design studio in Bangalore in partnership with Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. The first of its kind for Nokia outside finland.

Indian Mobile scenario:

Nokia and rivals such as Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. expect to sell as many as 93 million handsets in India by the end of March next year, according to the Indian Cellular Association. India added a record 7.34 million mobile subscribers in June, faster than China’s 7.05 million. Surprisingly less than 18 percent of 1.1 billion Indians have access to mobile phones. A great potential left!

India a raising manufacturing hub:

“It is based on our experience of having set up a manufacturing facility in Chennai. Skills and quality of manpower in India is among the best in the world. I feel India is second to none as location for setting up hardware facility,” Nokia worldwide CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasuvo said.