Smartphone: Electronics manufacturing service company Amber Enterprises India is preparing to start manufacturing of mobile phones in India for Chinese smartphone brands Oppo, OnePlus and Realme. Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO of the company, said that trial production is expected to start in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2026-27, while commercial production will start in the first quarter of the financial year 2027-28.
The company will work with the target of making 80 lakh smartphones in the first year
Amber Enterprises is aiming to manufacture around 80 lakh smartphones in the first year. After this, there is a plan to increase the production capacity in a phased manner to about 1.5 to 1.6 crore units in the second year. Jasbir Singh said that the company has also appointed a Chief Operational Officer (COO) for the mobile phone business. He said that the manufacturing co-operation agreement with Oppo Mobiles India is for all three brands Oppo, OnePlus and Realme.
Companies are becoming more dependent on local electronics manufacturing companies
\This move is believed to be a sign of the Chinese smartphone brand moving towards an ‘asset-light’ model in India. This means that companies are reducing their direct manufacturing share and becoming more dependent on local electronics manufacturing companies for production.
Sharp increase in CCL prices puts pressure on company’s margins.
At the same time, in Amber’s PCB business, the sharp rise in copper-clad laminate (CCL) prices has put pressure on margins. The company says that they are passing the burden of increased costs on to the customers. However, its effect is visible with some lag. According to Jasbir Singh, due to increasing demand for AI and data centers, CCL prices may increase further and there is a shortage in the market.
Amber Enterprises will set up its own CCL plant
Amber plans to set up its CCL plant by 2029-30. According to Counterpoint Research, Vivo’s share in India’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2026 was 17.8 percent, Samsung’s 17.6 percent and Oppo’s 13.6 percent. Vivo and Oppo group brands – which also include iQOO, Realme and OnePlus – had a combined share of 45.6 percent.