Zee Media Bureau
With a move to expand outside Asia, leading Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has started making devices in Brazil for local sale.
The company also launched its entry-level Redmi 2 smartphone during the day and said the smartphone would go on sale in Brazil next week for 499 reais ($160).
Hugo Barra, the vice president of the company had launched the smartphone.
This is the company's first such venture outside of Asia.
In an interview, Hugo Barra, said Brazil was "stage one of our Latin America launch," pointing to Mexico and Colombia as logical next steps in the region, although he declined to say when.
Without traditional advertising or stores, China`s top-selling smartphone company is betting that a tempting price tag will capture the attention of Brazilians who have become increasingly cost sensitive as their economy sours.
"We offer high-quality products at incredibly aggressive prices, so we`re starting with larger developing markets where people are very price-sensitive," Barra told Reuters.
The phones are already rolling off an assembly line outside of Sao Paulo run by Foxconn Technology Group, the same contract manufacturer making Apple`s iPhone in the country since 2011.
With Agency Inputs
