In a significant development, Motorola has welcomed the steep hike in the import duty on mobile phones. The company sources disclosed that the move will significantly boost Make in India initiative. The Government recently increased the customs duty on smartphones from 10 to 15 percent.
Motorola has ruled out the increase in the price of the Moto smartphones because they are assembled in Sriperumbudur, India. Hence, you will not see any increase in the price of smartphones. Within one day after the increase of customs duty, Apple hiked the prices of the iPhones by 3.5 percent since the devices are imported outside India.
Commenting on the development, Sudhin Mathur, Managing Director, Motorola Mobility India revealed that they welcome the decision of the government to increase import duty since it will accelerate Make in India initiative.
The company established their plant in India three years ago and the company will soon manufacture all smartphones in India since we are committed to the growth of the country. Moreover, the increase in import duty will generate more employment opportunities for people in India.
Meanwhile, the Tim Cook-owned company also increased the prices of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S by Rs. 1000 to Rs. 1500. The cost of the iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X is very higher at around Rs. 5000. It is to be noted that the price of the iPhone SE will not be hiked since they are assembled in India.
In a bid to boost offline sales, Motorola also opened a Moto Hub in Chennai in partnership with Poorvika Mobiles. The company sources revealed to us that they are planning to open 250 Moto Hub inside each Poorvika Stores across Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, and Karnataka.
