New Delhi: Chinese smartphone brand Xiaomi is planning to enter the large home appliances market in India amid sharply declining shipment volumes of its handsets in the country.The company considers this as a long-term bet on the India market and is in the process of identifying local manufacturing partners to make the products locally, senior executives said.Xiaomi has appointed Alex Tang as the new regional head of the South Asia region, which includes India, to spearhead the expansion, as previous India country head Alvin Tse departed for Beijing, they said. ET had reported about the appointment on May 29.Also read: Xiaomi India charts post-Anuj Sharma roadmap with South Asia headquarters push and large appliances expansion planChief operating officer Sudhin Mathur said the expansion is part of Xiaomi's next phase of growth in India as smartphone penetration in the country reaches the 100% mark.Tang was specifically chosen to execute this strategy because of his extensive experience in heading the Southeast Asia region, which was the first market outside China where Xiaomi successfully localised and launched large appliances, Mathur said.The company sells appliances like air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines in these markets.Chief business officer Sandeep Arora said the company's product teams are evaluating local electronics manufacturing services partners to assess their technological capabilities to see if they can handle the necessary technology transfers to build the products locally.Localisation mandateTo support this next phase of growth, India is being elevated to serve as the headquarters for the South Asia region that includes Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Previously these markets were managed from Beijing."Tang will build a dedicated regional support team that will eventually be based entirely out of India once visa processes are completed," Mathur said.Also read: Xiaomi brings in South Asia head to revive Indian operationsThis is not the first time the company is attempting to expand its portfolio of products in India. Company executives said the previous attempts to introduce ecosystem products such as water purifiers and vacuum cleaners faced significant supply chain gaps and certification approval delays as they were imported.