India has approved the establishment of a manufacturing joint venture between the Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, Vivo, and the local industry, Dixon Technologies. This means that the expansion of mobile phone manufacturing in India is entering a new phase following the growth of Indian mobile phone exports driven by apples, and that Chinese brands are beginning to deepen their capacity through local cooperation.
This cooperation was first announced in December 2024 and was pending release by the Government of India. According to Dixon ' s submission to the exchange, the joint venture will acquire part of Vivo ' s manufacturing assets, take over part of Vivo ' s mobile phone orders and also produce electronics for other brands.
Joint venture owned by India
The new company ' s equity structure is 51:49, with Dixon holding the majority and Vivo holding the remainder. TechCrunch quoted analysts as saying that this model of business ownership in India, involving Chinese brands, could be a reference model for similar cooperation in the future.
In India, the review rules for investments related to neighbouring countries were tightened in 2020, with investments from countries bordering India subject to stricter approval and China included. Since then, the mobile phone brands of Oppo, Vivo and Mi have been subject to tax and regulatory investigations in India.
Apple-led exports, Chinese brands short. Board
Over the past few years, apples and their suppliers have continued to expand their iPhone production in India, promoting India as a major global cell phone manufacturing base. Government incentives have also attracted more electronic manufacturing enterprises to local markets.
According to the data provided by Counterpoint to TechCrunch, apples currently account for 57 per cent of India's smartphone exports. In contrast, Chinese brands represent 72 per cent of the Indian mobile market, but their export contribution is less than 10 per cent. This means that while China ' s brands are well marketed locally, participation in export manufacturing remains significantly low.
Dixon's new annual production or 22 million units
For Dixon, this cooperation will also lead to a direct increase in production. Atul Lall, the director-in-chief of the company, at the May Press conference, said that, based on Vivo ' s current sales, the cooperation could add approximately 20 to 22 million mobile phone units per year.
Dixon, one of India's largest electronic manufacturing services, has produced smart phones for millet. With the addition of Vivo, its role in the Indian mobile phone manufacturing chain has further expanded and strengthened its position in the expansion of local electronics.
Additional information:The Counterpoint data show that Vivo's share of the smartphone market in India was 23 per cent in the first quarter of this year, still at the top of the local market.