Sony Ericsson to set up Chennai unit

Sony Ericsson has announced that it is establishing a R&D unit for mobile phones in Chennai.

The unit will be headed by Anders Grynge, who was previously based at the Sony Ericsson R&D centre in Sweden. It will be a part of Sony Ericsson's global R&D chain, which comprises sites in China, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US and the UK.

The move follows the company's announcement in January that it would manufacture phones in Chennai with partners Flextronics and Foxconn, targeting a production of 10 million units by 2009.

Sudhin Mathur, general manager, Sony Ericsson India, said the company has witnessed very encouraging growth in the Indian market, more than doubling its market share and ranking among the top 3 GSM handset manufacturers.

"With a product development site in Chennai, as well as local manufacturing, Sony Ericsson is poised to further consolidate its (growing) momentum in the Indian market," Mathur said.

Sony Ericsson estimates the Indian mobile phone market to have doubled last year, as more than 62 million handsets were sold in the last 12 months.