SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—With arch-rival Nokia Corp. seizing more than 60-percent market share in India—one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing mobile markets—Motorola Inc. is investing an additional $100 million in a manufacturing facility near the city of Chennai. The facility joins Motorola’s six research-and-development centers in India; its Bangalore R&D center was established 15 years ago.
“Our decision to make an investment of this scale is a reflection of our continued global commitment to connect the next billion consumers,” said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola’s mobile devices business.
The facility, expected to be online in 2007, will produce handsets and network base stations. The first phase will require an outlay of $30 million by Motorola and outlays will scale up to a total of $100 million during two years.
While the plant is being built, Motorola has contracted with a local manufacturer to make its C-115 phone, an entry-level, low-cost handset that is fueling its volume sales in India; Bharti Televentures Ltd., India’s largest network operator, is distributing the phone.
In a related announcement, Motorola also said this week it would invest $60 million during the next two years in Singapore in a supply-chain control tower—scheduled to be operational in 2008—to better manage its supply-chain activities. The handset vendor has 37 R&D centers and four manufacturing sites in the region.
