China-based Lenovo is planning to manufacture wearables in India as the company aims to grow its local market share in the segment to 20 per cent in 2018, reported Reuters.

In an interview Sebastian Peng, head of accessories at Lenovo Mobile Business Group, said the company had garnered a 6 per cent to 7 per cent share of the wearables market since launching the product line in India in 2017, and aims to grow the figure three-fold this year.

As part of the plans, Lenovo will also begin manufacturing the products, such as smartwatches and fitness bands, in India. Currently, its manufacturing is done solely in China.

Peng said the company had already begun talks with local manufacturers and it was aiming “to start these operations sometime this year.”

“Smart wearables is the key category we’re trying to push for this year,” he said. “We are very confident that we can achieve our target.”

Lenovo forged a partnership with e-commerce company Flipkart to handle sales of its wearables in the country, but is also looking to sell its devices on other portals including Amazon.

IDC placed the value of India’s wearables market at $157 million in 2017. Lenovo competes in the market with Chinese rivals Xiaomi and Huawei, as well as Fitbit.

Peng added the company could make India an export hub for the wearables market in the future.