Google announces opening of self-owned after-sales centres in India

Google has announced its plans to launch three self-owned walk-in centres, in collaboration with F1 Info Solutions, to offer after-sales support for its devices in India. Google has selected Delhi and Bengaluru as the locations for its maiden walk-in centres in the country that was inaugurated on 14^th August. The third centre is planned for Mumbai, although it will not launch simultaneously with those in Delhi and Bengaluru.

Alongside these advancements, Google has unveiled plans to expand the retail availability of its Pixel devices in India through partnerships with Reliance Digital and Croma. Previously, Google had mainly depended on the e-commerce platform Flipkart for Pixel sales and utilized third-party vendors like B2x and F1 Info Solutions for after-sales support.

Google has been actively establishing partnerships with local contract manufacturers to produce Pixel devices in India. On August 12, it was announced that production of the India-made Pixel 8 had begun.

Currently, the Pixel 8 is the only model being manufactured locally, but Google intends to extend production to include the A-series, starting with the Pixel 8a. Maggie Wei confirmed that, at present, local production is focused on the domestic market, although the company might explore exporting units from India if it fits their broader strategy.

Meanwhile, Google's competitor Apple has been aggressively expanding its operations in India. According to a Business Standard report, Apple exceeded its PLI scheme target by shipping 85 percent of iPhones by production value (Rs 40,145 crore) in April-July FY25. During the same period, the company exported 79 per cent of its iPhones from the country.