Amazon To Release Echo Auto In India, As It Eyes Asia Expansion

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is launching its Echo Auto smart speaker series in India.

What Happened

The device designed specifically to function with automobiles is priced at $70.34 (INR 4,999). The e-commerce giant is currently taking pre-orders and will start delivering the device on January 15.

Unlike other Echo devices, the Echo Auto doesn't come with an in-built speaker and instead relies on the car's stereo system.

Amazon is looking to expand its presence in Asia, as it considers India, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia "key growth regions," Amazon's vice president in charge of voice technology, Miriam Daniel, told the Nikkei Asian Review.

Why It Matters

Echo Auto is priced noticeably higher in India than the United States, where it is being sold for $49.99 on Amazon's website.

The significant average income difference between the two countries makes the device even further expensive for the Indian market.

Amazon has been pushing more product launches in India, where it faces fierce competition from Walmart Inc. WMT subsidiary Flipkart in the e-commerce business.

In September last year, Amazon added support for Hindi to Alexa, the language spoken by nearly half the population in India.

The company also launched a portable smart speaker, Echo Input, for its Indian consumers in December last year.

Price Action

Amazon's shares closed 0.48% higher at $1,901.05 on Thursday.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Amazon.in