HMD Global, the company responsible for most Nokia phones on the market today, has traditionally manufactured all Nokia-branded smartphones in Asia, where labor costs are lower, in order to maintain competitive pricing for its devices.

However, HMD recently set a precedent for global smartphone manufacturers by announcing the start of production in Europe.

Thus, the Nokia XR21 became the first “European Edition” 5G smartphone. It is already available for sale in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Finland at a starting price of €650.

Jean-Francois Baril, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of HMD Global, expressed enthusiasm about this development:

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.