Indian handset brand, Lava Mobiles, is soon going to launch True Wireless Stereo (TWS) earphones in India.
Sunil Raina, President, Lava Mobiles said to The Mobile Indian, “Once the lockdown gets over, we will launch a TWS earphone in the country for Less than Rs 2000.”
He further added, “This is not the first time Lava is entering the accessories market. We already have launched a coupe of affordable earphones under the element brand.” He didn’t share any more details about the TWS earphones but said, “Apple’s design language will not inspire our TWS.”
Of late TWS market in Indian is gaining momentum and the latest product to launch in the market in Mi True Earphones 2 which cost Rs 4,499.
The Indian TWS market has shown a growth of 700% growth in 2019, as per Counterpoint. The report further adds, “The availability of many affordable devices by players like Realme, Xiaomi and Noise immediately caught consumers’ attention with their audio quality and ease of use. As the India market remains largely untapped for TWS, the segment holds huge growth potential and opportunities for new players.”
Unlike the other Indian handset brands, Lava has been working on scaling up its manufacturing capabilities for the last three years. In 2018, the company invested over Rs 2,600 crore in its manufacturing units to reach a production capacity of 21.6 crore units in the next five years to capitalize on manufacturing sub Rs 10,000 smartphones.
Lava also has India’s first mobile devices design centre to give a boost to mobile manufacturing ecosystem in the country and attract component players. They have put in a claimed initial investment of Rs 250 crore in it to design budget smartphones for their brand as well as other companies.
Even investments are flowing for Lava, and the spokesperson of the company has confirmed the development. He said, “We are in advance stage of discussion with a couple of investors who will join us as strategic and financial investors.”
“Lava is also contemplating getting listed US stock exchange to widen its horizon,” said the spokesperson. Apart from India, Lava is present in 24 countries where it is selling phones under its brand name. The countries include Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia, Egypt, Thailand, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.
In 2018, Lava claimed that they are the first Indian company to have its own SMT (Surface Mount Technology) plant which focused on local manufacturing of PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) units.