NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone major Vivo has decided to increase the quantum of investment planned for its India operations from Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 7,500 crore in order to expand its manufacturing capacities over the next few years. According to company officials, this will enable it to meet the strong growth in demand for its range of smartphones in the market.
While no firm timeline has been divulged, the expansion in manufacturing capacities is to be implemented in several phases, the first of which will see the company’s annual production capacity increase to 33.4 million units from the current 25 million units. “This phase will be ready by next month and will create around 2,700 job opportunities,” said Nipun Marya, director - brand strategy, Vivo India.
The smartphone brand had announced last December that it would invest Rs 4,000 crore to expand its manufacturing capacities over four years, part of which went into the acquisition of a 169-acre land parcel in the Yamuna Expressway region near Noida. According to sources, the company has already invested around Rs 400 crore for this facility.
“Vivo will contribute not only in form of economic growth and technology, but also towards skilled labour and jobs for the vast talent pool of the nation. Overall, our aim is to create about 40,000 job opportunities over next 10 years,” said Marya.
Despite a broad demand slowdown, smartphone sales have showed little signs of slowing down in India, with a recent report from International Data Corporation showing that smartphone shipments grew at 9.9 per cent in the April-June quarter, rising to 36.9 million units. The large majority of the sales, especially in the mid-segment range, are dominated by Chinese players.