Micromax Exploring Electric Vehicle Venture Following Decline in Smartphone Sales, Layoffs: Report

Micromax's upcoming venture will initially focus on two-wheeler EVs, according to a report.

Written by David Delima, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 9 August 2023 15:43 IST

Micromax unveiled its current logo at its 'Guts to Change' event in 2016

Highlights

Micromax started making phones in India in 2008 and peaked in 2014-2015
The smartphone maker has faced stiff competition from Chinese brands
Micromax is reportedly working on a venture to launch EVs in the country

Micromax is looking to enter the electric vehicle manufacturing space in India, according to a report. The New Delhi-based phone manufacturer has faced stiff competition from Chinese brands in the country and reportedly laid off employees across the country, while senior executives have also exited the firm. The developments — including efforts to start making EVs in the country that would compete with offerings from Ather Energy, Matter Aera, and Ola Electric — come after Micromax has seen smartphone shipments continue to decline in the country.

According to a TechCrunch report, Micromax's layoffs and the exit of its top executives including the Chief Product Officer and Chief Business Officer over the past few months are a result of the company's attempts to foray into the EV manufacturing sector. Co-Founder Vikas Jain — who replaced Co-Founder Rahul Sharma as Managing Director after he resigned in April 2021 — has also departed the firm as per the report.

The smartphone maker became the top smartphone maker in India in August 2014 when it dethroned market leader Samsung. Back in 2014, the company had announced that it would offer smartphones running on Microsoft's mobile operating system in addition to Android smartphones. The firm was also the 10th largest phone brand a year later. However, the arrival of Chinese smartphone makers like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo and their competitive pricing led to the brand struggling to retain its popularity in the country in subsequent years.

In February, the company's founders Rajesh Agarwal, Sumeet Kumar, and Vikas Jain formed a new firm with the name Micromax Mobility, according to the report, which cites three former employees who state that the new venture will initially focus on two-wheeler EVs. Two sources also told TechCrunch that the firm is revamping an office in Gurugram as part of its efforts to foray into the mobility sector.

While Micromax is yet to make a formal announcement related to its plans, its purported EV venture would compete in a busy market that includes popular brands such as Ather Energy, Matter Aera, and Ola Electric. The four-wheeler EV segment already includes several other brands such as Tata, Hyundai, MG, Maruti, and BYD that offer a range of vehicles at different prices in the country.

From the launch of the Infinix GT 10 Pro to Amazon's latest mega-sale, we discuss the most noteworthy technology news events of the week on the latest episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Micromax, Micromax Mobility, Electric Vehicles, EV

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More