China’s TCL to set up plant in Tirupati

TCL Corp, a China-based consumer electronics brand, will set up a manufacturing plant at Tirupati in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, according to a report by the Press Trust of India on October 8, citing the company’s India head, Mike Chen. TCL will invest more than US$270 million in the first phase of the plant that will have an annual production capacity of around 3 million TVs. The company expects to start production from the facility by October 2019. With the new plant, TCL is hoping to bolster its presence in the fast-growing Indian market, and hopes to sell up to 1 million units next year.

TCL said that the plant would not be just an assembling unit and would manufacture panel and full units of TV. Mr Chen added that only glass cutting for the panels would happen in China while the rest of the work would be executed at the Tirupati factory. This comes in line with the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative that aims to boost indigenous manufacturing. The plant follows a deal signed between TCL and the Andhra Pradesh state government earlier this month. TCL also plans to start making mobile phone, washing machine, refrigerator and air-conditioner at the plant next year.

TCL’s plan comes at a time when India’s appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) market is touted to increase at a 9 per cent CAGR to reach US$48.4 billion by 2022, from US$31.5 billion in 2017. TCL said it would plan the second phase of the plant following market response. The company will also service the original equipment manufacturing sector from the plant, along with expanding its retail network across India. TCL’s plans are akin to that of China-based Xiaomi’s which is setting up a plant at Tirupati along with an Indian partner to make as many as 100,000 TVs by the first quarter of 2019.