Google has increased its sales target for the Pixel 5a in India ahead of its rumored launch on June 11, according to a report from ET Telecom.
The search giant had underestimated the demand for the Pixel 4a in the country, which explains why it wants to have more stock this year.
A company executive said:
Google doubled inventory for Pixel for India last year and this year the intention is to further increase the focus and get larger share from global inventory for the India market.
The Pixel 4a was priced 25 percent lower than the 3a in India, a strategy that clearly worked. The company is keeping a close eye on rivals Apple and OnePlus to maintain an aggressive pricing strategy in the mid-tier category and also wants to expand into more price segments, now that Pixel is a recognized brand.
Google is also looking into shifting a portion of its smartphone manufacturing to India for ‘both domestic and export needs.’
The Pixel 5 and 4a 5G were not released in India because the country didn’t have 5G services at that time. The country still hasn’t launched 5G networks, which doesn’t bode well for the launch of the Pixel 6.
According to Counterpoint Research, Pixel smartphone sales increased 36 percent year-on-year in 2020, and there is potential for more growth. It’s not clear if Google’s sales target for India is also reflective of its international strategy. Last year, it reportedly set a modest goal of manufacturing 3 million units of the Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a (5G), and Pixel 5.
The upcoming Pixel 5a is rumored to take design cues from the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. Leaks point to a 6.2-inch OLED panel with a Full-HD+ resolution, a 3.5mm headphone jack, a rear-mounted fingerprint reader, and the familiar square camera bump for two camera sensors, an LED flash, and a phase-detection autofocus system.
