Sony Ericsson to open Chennai facility

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Sony Ericsson has announced that it would set up a research and development unit for mobile phones in Chennai.

The new facility, to be headed by Anders Grynge, will be part of the company’s global network of R&D units which currently comprises of sites in China, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US and the UK.

In January, the company had made an announcement of sourcing local manufacture of phones in Chennai with EMS partners Flextronics and Foxconn with a production target of 10 million units by 2009.

“Establishing a development facility in India along with manufacturing gives us a strong foothold for generating future growth in India. Over the past few years, Sony Ericsson has witnessed very encouraging growth in the Indian market, more than doubling its market share, and becoming amongst the top three GSM handset manufacturers,” said Sudhin Mathur, general manager, Sony Ericsson India.

“India is the world’s fastest growing economy with a highly skilled technology-focused workforce. The Indian market is also one of the most exciting and dynamic, as consumers are adopting mobile communications technology rapidly. We can more closely tap into consumer behaviour in local markets if we continue to have R&D teams ‘on the ground.’ This can lead to innovations that have worldwide appeal, as well as make our products more accepted on a regional basis,” said Grynge, head, Product Business Group, Sony Ericsson India.