Vivo to set up smartphone manufacturing unit in Gurgaon

Vivo is third Chinese mobile brand to have announced its India-focused plans

Vivo, a BBK Communications Technology brand and China's third-largest smartphone manufacturer, is planning to set up a manufacturing facility at Gurgaon in India, according to its India general manager Tracy Chen.

"We have already started the process of identifying land in Gurgaon. The plant should start production within the next three years," he told mediapersons here on Wednesday.

A relatively new entrant to the Indian market, Vivo is the third Chinese mobile brand to have announced its 'India-focused' plans.

While one of its Chinese counterparts, Xiaomi, had announced that it would set up a dedicated data centre in India by 2015, the other, Gionee, had in early this year said it would establish its production unit in India in the next couple of years.

"The entry of Chinese mobile brands into India creates a level-playing field. Vivo will operate with a healthy level of competitiveness, respecting every brand in this market " Chen said.

The 20-year-old company, headquartered in Shenzhen, China, entered India in December 2014, offering a portfolio of seven smartphone models in the price range of Rs 8,000 to Rs 30,000.

"We shipped 40 million units of smartphones out of China last year ... to countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. We target to sell an equal number of phones in India alone in the next five to 10 years ... this is our long-term plan," Chen said.