Vivo to Sets Up INR 3,000 Crore Facility In India, Next Month: Report Smartphone maker Vivo is preparing to open a large mobile phone manufacturing facility in India, boasting an annual capacity of 120 million devices, with an investment of over INR 3,000 crore.
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Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is preparing to inaugurate a large mobile phone manufacturing facility in India, boasting an annual capacity of 120 million devices. The facility, set up with an investment of over INR 3,000 crore, is located in Greater Noida and the company is seeking an Indian joint venture partner. As per a report from ET, talks with potential partners like the Tata Group and Dixon Technologies have been held, but final agreements have not yet been reached.
Additionally, Vivo recently vacated its old manufacturing unit - the plant has been taken over by Micromax Informatics' manufacturing unit, Bhagwati Enterprises - to accommodate the new facility which is comparable in scale to Samsung's largest mobile phone manufacturing plant in the country.
"Vivo is keen on having a strong Indian partner for its operations. While nothing has been finalised so far around the JV, talks are on with a few stakeholders," a source was quoted by ET. "Nothing has been finalised as yet. But Dixon is looking at a similar deal for Vivo's manufacturing operations as the one it struck with Transsion," a source at Dixon disclosed to ET.
Talking about the subject, a senior Tata Group executive told ET that the group's interest has been only in the manufacturing facilities, given its focus to build manufacturing hubs across the country. Acquisitions will also be key to scale up quickly. All possible opportunities to scale up are being looked at by Tata Electronics and a future possibility of a revival in talks cannot be ruled out.
Amidst heightened scrutiny of Chinese smartphone firms in India over accusations of dodging customs duties and laundering money, the Indian government is championing domestic push in the mobile phone industry via its 'Make In India' campaign.
Simultaneously, BBK Group, a titan in Chinese mobile manufacturing, has forged alliances with Indian manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Karbonn Group to produce its Oppo, Vivo, and Realme handsets. Moreover, Chinese heavyweights such as Xiaomi and Realme are collaborating with Indian companies for their distribution channels.
The story behind the synopsis
Vivo overtook Samsung as the top smartphone brand in India in Q1 2024, with a market share of 16.2 per cent, followed by Motorola and Xiaomi. The market concentration among top brands is weakening, with smaller brands and sub-brands gaining volume. India's smartphone market shipped 34 million smartphones in 1Q24, with 11.5 per cent growth year-over-year (YoY). Shipments to online channels grew by 16 per cent YoY, and Apple had a record first-quarter shipment, growing by 19 per cent.
Brands continued their focus on micro financing schemes to drive affordability, resulting in increased demand and lean inventory. As many as 23 million 5G smartphones were shipped in the quarter, with shipments of the mass budget (US$100) being the highest. IDC estimates a modest overall annual growth in the mid-single digits for 2024. Challenges around attracting first-time smartphone users and mitigating the impact of the secondhand market continue to restrict market growth. The share of the top five brands has dropped to 65 per cent from 69 per cent. Read more.
