Amber to start making Oppo, OnePlus, Realme phones in March 2027 quarter

Electronics manufacturing services firm Amber Enterprises India is preparing to enter the mobile phone sector through a major manufacturing collaboration agreement with Oppo Mobiles India. The new partnership will see the production of popular Chinese smartphone brands including Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme. To spearhead this new division, the company has already onboarded a chief operating officer dedicated to the mobile vertical.

"Our group is set to foray into mobile phones through a manufacturing collaboration agreement with Oppo Mobiles India. The scope covers three brands, Oppo, OnePlus and Realme. We are on course to commence the trial production by quarter 4 of FY27 and commercial production to begin quarter 1 of FY28."

Media additions

Jasbir Singh, Executive Chairman and CEO and whole-time director, via The Hindu BusinessLine

Production volumes are projected to start at approximately 8 million units during the first year of operations. Following a calibrated, phase-wise ramp-up, the company expects to double this output to roughly 15-16 million in the second year of operations. Jasbir Singh detailed these targets during the earnings call, noting the firm's structured roadmap for the newly formed division.

Market Context and Regulatory Pressures

The transition of Oppo to Amber highlights a wider trend among Chinese mobile brands originally emerging from BBK Electronics. While these companies claim to have independent operations, they are systematically reducing their manufacturing exposure in India to move toward asset-light models. For instance, Oppo smartphones are also produced at Vivo's manufacturing unit in Noida for sale in India. At the same time, Vivo is in the process of hiving off its plant to a joint venture company that it is creating with Dixon Technologies.

These corporate restructurings unfold against a backdrop of regulatory scrutiny. Vivo has faced action from the Enforcement Directorate, while Oppo has faced action from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on tax issues.

Market data compiled by Counterpoint Research indicates that Vivo led the Indian smartphone market in terms of sales volume. The company had 17.8 per cent market share, followed by Samsung with 17.6 per cent and Oppo at third spot with 13.6 per cent share in the second quarter (Q2) of 2026. Furthermore, Vivo and Oppo group brands, including iQoo, Realme, and OnePlus, jointly garnered 45.6 per cent of the Indian smartphone market in Q2, 2026.

Supply Chain Pressures in Printed Circuit Boards

Beyond the new mobile venture, Amber's earnings call also addressed wider supply chain cost pressures affecting its printed circuit board business. Jasbir Singh said that there has been compression in margin of the company of bare PCB amid a steep rise in the copper-clad laminate (CCL) costs. He explained that the company has been passing on the rise in cost to clients with some lag.

CopperClad Laminate price is continuing to increase. It will keep on increasing because of artificial intelligence and data centre requirements. There is a lot of shortage of Copperclad Laminate also. We are able to pass on to the customers all the price increases we have, he said. Looking ahead to infrastructure developments, the company expects to set up its CCL plant by 2029-30, Singh said.

What to Watch Next

• Q4 FY27: Scheduled commencement of trial production for Oppo, OnePlus, and Realme devices at Amber facilities.
• Q1 FY28: Official launch of commercial production, targeting an initial output of 8 million units under the Oppo Mobiles India manufacturing agreement.
• Future Operations: A planned phase-wise ramp-up aimed at doubling production capacity to almost 15-16 million in the second year of operations.
• Infrastructure Milestones: Ongoing development toward establishing Amber's dedicated copper-clad laminate plant by the 2029-30 financial year to counter ongoing supply chain cost pressures.