With over Rs 35 billion invested in the last 10 years, Vivo is eyeing achieving the next localisation milestone in India through a new production facility, local partnerships and components.
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is set to inaugurate its 169-acre new manufacturing facility in Greater Noida this year. The plant, detailed in Vivo’s annual India Impact Report 2023, currently has an annual production capacity of 60 million units, with plans to double this to 120 million units once fully operational.
The company’s new facility in India is central to its dual strategy of expanding local manufacturing and developing products tailored specifically to Indian consumers. Vivo further disclosed in the report that it plans to source components like camera stabilisation modules, OLED displays, and memory modules in India as its next expansion phase to enhance value addition.
The report also stated that, under the ‘Design for India’ initiative, it has begun crafting smartphones catering to local preferences. However, no plans were disclosed regarding when the plant will operate at full capacity.
Operating in the Indian market for a decade, the smartphone giant has produced more than 150 million ‘Made in India’ smartphones at its local facility and invested Rs 35 billion into its operations in the country. Since 2022, the company has also exported smartphones manufactured in India, with exports totalling Rs 4 billion.
According to the company’s data, it has achieved 100% local assembly for motherboards, with batteries (94%), chargers (97%), cameras (77%), and fingerprint sensors (97%) also sourced locally.
Furthermore, to achieve the next localisation milestone, Vivo announced that it is collaborating with more than 30 local component suppliers to strengthen the domestic component ecosystem and support exports.
CEO Jerome Chen stated that this expansion strategy reflects Vivo’s focus on local leadership and increased value addition in India.
He remarked that the upcoming decade offers significant potential for India, where the government has made progress in improving infrastructure, strengthening governance, enhancing the financial sector, and implementing forward-thinking policies.
Consequently, the market is experiencing a rise in premium products, rapid technological advancements, and increasing demand.
Vivo currently holds a 19% share of the Indian market and operates over 70,000 retail outlets, more than 650 exclusive stores, and over 650 service centres. The company has created around 200,000 jobs in India, both directly and indirectly.
