Vivo To Unveil INR 3,000 Cr Smartphone Manufacturing Plant In India Next Month

SUMMARY

This plant will boast an annual production capacity of 120 Mn devices, set up with an investment of over INR 3,000 Cr

Vivo is seeking an Indian joint venture (JV) partner for its manufacturing operations

This comes days after it was reported that Tata Group was in talks to acquire a majority stake in Vivo's Indian unit

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is set to unveil one of India’s largest mobile phone manufacturing facilities next month.

This manufacturing unit will boast an annual production capacity of 120 Mn devices, set up with an investment of over INR 3,000 Cr, ET reported.

This comes days after it was reported that Tata Group was in talks to acquire a majority stake in Vivo’s Indian unit.

The report further said that Vivo is seeking an Indian joint venture (JV) partner for its manufacturing operations and also held talks with Tata Group and the Murugappa Group, but negotiations stalled due to disagreements over valuation.

Inc42 has reached out to Vivo for a comment on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

“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 as saying by ET.

Besides, in April, OPPO and Vivo began discussions with several Indian companies in the handset sector as they seek potential partners for their operations in India. These discussions involved Dixon, Lava International, Optiemus, Bhagwati (Micromax), and UTL Neolyncs.

As per ET, Dixon is in initial talks with Vivo for a joint venture similar to its deal with Transsion for manufacturing operations.

The company recently vacated its leased manufacturing unit with a capacity of 40 Mn devices, which has now been taken over by Micromax Informatics’ manufacturing unit, Bhagwati Enterprises.

As per the report, Vivo’s new unit, spanning 170 acres in Greater Noida, compares with Samsung’s mobile phone manufacturing facility—the country’s largest—which was inaugurated in 2018 and also has an annual capacity of 120 Mn units.

With Chinese smartphone companies under scrutiny in India, including allegations of customs duty evasion and money laundering, the government is promoting local control in the mobile phone sector through its ‘Make In India’ initiative.

Meanwhile, BBK Group, the Chinese mobile phone maker, has partnered with Indian manufacturers Dixon Technologies and Karbonn Group to produce Oppo, Vivo, and Realme smartphones. Chinese brands like Xiaomi and Realme have also engaged Indian entities for distribution.