Vivo to invest Rs 4,000 cr to expand manufacturing capacity in India

Chinese handset maker Vivo Thursday said it will set up a new manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh and invest Rs 4,000 crore over a period of four years.

The company, which competes with the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi in the Indian market, has acquired 169-acre land in the Yamuna Expressway region on the outskirts of the national capital.

The new land has been acquired near Vivo's existing 50-acre manufacturing facility (in Greater Noida, UP), and it will help expand the company's manufacturing capabilities and support its growth in India, a statement said.

"Vivo entered India in 2014 with a commitment to bring product innovation, focus and value to our consumers. India is a key market for us, and today we have reiterated our commitment by entering the next phase of growth in India," Vivo India Director-Brand Strategy Nipun Marya said.

The new plant will offer a major benefit to the surrounding area through high-quality job creation and training opportunities, he added.

All Vivo smartphones sold in the country are manufactured at the Greater Noida facility, which is one of Vivo's four manufacturing facilities globally.

The existing manufacturing set-up, which saw an investment of Rs 300 crore, already functions at a capacity of 2 million units per month with more than 5,000 workforce.

Vivo expects to generate 5,000 additional jobs in the first phase of expansion, the statement said.

During this phase, Vivo also plans to double the current production capacity to 50 million units per annum, it added.

India is one of the world's largest smartphone markets and growing steadily. Smartphone shipments in India touched an all-time high of 42.6 million units in July-September 2018 quarter, registering an year-on-year growth of 9.1 per cent, according to the research firm IDC.

This is the first time when the smartphone market is at par with the feature phone market with each segment contributing 50 per cent to the overall mobile phone market.

Xiaomi led the smartphone tally with shipment of 11.7 million units and 27.3 per cent market share, followed by Samsung 9.6 million units (22.6 per cent share), Vivo 4.5 million units (10.5 per cent share), Micromax 2.9 million units (6.9 per cent share) and Oppo 2.9 million units (6.7 per cent share).