With a view to localise developments, OnePlus is set to establish an R&D centre in India this year, as well as a second global headquarters. The Chinese company that forayed into the Indian market with the launch of the OnePlus One back in 2014 is also reportedly in plans to set up its second global headquarters in the country after the first being operative in Shenzhen, Guangdong. In October 2015, OnePlus announced its partnership with Foxconn to start manufacturing its devices locally in the country. The smartphone maker kick-started its local manufacturing operations through the Foxconn Rising Stars factory in Andhra Pradesh. It was also recently announced that the company managed to garner sales worth Rs. 100 crores in merely first ten minutes of the OnePlus 6 sale in India. The latest flagship handset that comes with a starting price of Rs. 34,999 was launched in the country in May.
"The R&D centre is to be set up either in Hyderabad or Bengaluru by the year-end," said Vikas Agarwal, General Manager, OnePlus India, as quoted by The Hindu Business Line. The centre is said to be meant for around 50 employees and is aimed to help localise products for the Indian market. In contrast, the R&D centre in China reportedly has around 100 employees.
In addition to the establishment plans for an R&D centre, OnePlus will found its second global headquarters in India to help the company "decentralise the operations". The Shenzhen-based company is also expanding its service centres to 25 from 12 and launch nearly five experience zones. In May 2016, OnePlus launched its first exclusive service centre in India that is located in Bengaluru. It also plans to set up five experience zones, the report added. OnePlus confirmed the opening of an R&D centre and its second headquarters in a press statement on Monday.
As per a recent report by Counterpoint Research, OnePlus became the fastest growing smartphone vendor in the premium segment in India with over 192 percent growth marked in the first quarter of 2018. The company's OnePlus 5T debuted as the best-selling model with a 25 percent share of the top premium models of the quarter, followed by the Samsung Galaxy S9+ at 17 percent and Galaxy S9 at 12 percent. "OnePlus has been maintaining its second spot in the premium segment which it is has been holding since Q3 2017," the Counterpoint report had said.
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