HMD launches its first 5G Nokia phone manufactured in Europe

The name HMD might not mean anything to many of smartphone users, but this is the company behind most Nokia phones that you see these days. To keep its devices competitive price-wise, HMD manufactured all Nokia-branded smartphones in Asia where it’s easy to find cheap labor.

Today, HMD announced that it has decided to start manufacturing 5G smartphones in Europe. In fact, the Finnish company claims it’s the first major global smartphone manufacturer to bring manufacturing to Europe.

Today’s news follows the recent announcement of the company’s transition to a new multi-brand portfolio strategy. Basically, this means that HMD will manufacture both Nokia- and HMD-branded smartphones.

The first 5G smartphone to be manufactured in Europe is the Nokia XR21, which is already available for purchase by Enterprise customers.

“We are thrilled to be manufacturing the Nokia XR21, our signature rugged 5G smartphone, in Europe. We are dedicated to investing in security, technology and manufacturing processes that make our devices more secure and longer lasting,” said Jean-Francois Baril, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of HMD Global.

In the same piece of news, HMD announced that it’s celebrating the new milestone with a batch of 30 limited edition of Nokia XR21, which will feature an exclusive Frosted Platinum color and are engraved with their own unique serial number. They also come with a certificate of origin in the box (Made in Europe) and can be purchased via Nokia’s online shop.

If you’re interested, you’ll want to know that the Nokia XR21 Limited Edition in exclusive Frosted Platinum is available from €700 (£600) today in UK, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Finland.

On the other hand, the Nokia XR21 European Edition in Black will be available for purchase from €650 (£550) in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Finland.