Vivo to set up industrial design centre in India, increase headcount to 50,000

Smartphone maker Vivo will set-up an industrial design centre in India to develop devices locally, and increase its headcount to 50,000, a top company official said on Thursday.

Vivo India director for brand strategy Nipun Marya said the company has announced Rs 7,500 crore investment in India to increase smartphone manufacturing capacity from 3.3 crore units to 12 crore.

"Very soon we will be setting up our industrial design centre in India too. We will not only make in india but also design in India. This design centre will focus on understanding the needs of Indian consumers. The first product from Vivo that will be designed and made in India will be rolled out in 2020-21," Marya said.

He was speaking at a virtual event to announce strategic foray of Chinese handset maker Vivo into the premium smartphone segment with X50 series with 5G technology.

We have decided to wholeheartedly support our Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s vocal for local programme. We have announced that we will be investing Rs 7,500 crore into the expansion of our Greater Noida factory," Marya said, adding the investment will increase local sourcing from 15 per cent to 40 per cent in one year.

Vivo was the second largest smartphone selling brand in India with 21 per cent market share in January-March quarter, according to market research firm IDC.

The company will increase the factory employment to 50,000 Indians. And the investment will make Vivo India factory not only Vivo''s one of the biggest factories but also one of India''s largest smartphone manufacturing units, Marya noted.

During the launch event, the company unveiled two models of X50 series priced at Rs 34,990 and Rs 37,990, while X50 Pro has been priced at Rs 49,990 as it has higher hardware specifications in terms of processor, battery and camera.

Marya said Vivo has been premium segment earlier, but the the company is foraying strategically with dedicated X50 series in the high end segment.

"Vivo has been doing good in the below Rs 30,000 segment. There are many people who are Vivo loyalists and when they look for smartphones beyond Rs 30,000 then they don''t get a choice from Vivo. It is on the back of this feedback, we should be able to do good in this segment," he added.

The company has started pre-booking of the product starting Thursday and will start selling them from July 24, Marya informed.

Vivo also announced entry into the mobile allied devices segment with the launch of wireless earphones TWS Neo in a move to start developing the internet of things (IoT) product.