vivo embarked on its journey in India in 2014 with a clear vision: to become a significant contributor to the nation’s progress by enhancing the mobile ecosystem through economic and technological advancements. In 2024, as we mark a decade of operations in India, our commitment to the country and its people is stronger than ever.

Through-out this time, we added meaningful value to the mobile ecosystem, particularly in manufacturing. vivo was one of the first smartphone companies to start its own manufacturing operations in India. We began operations with around 500 skilled individuals, passionately working to manufacture our smartphones. Fast-forward to today,

vivo India is home to around 8,000 employees and manufactured more than 150 million smartphones over 9+ years

Today, every vivo smartphone that vivo sells in India is Made in India at our sprawling facility in Greater Noida.

Lalit Sharma, who heads Outgoing Quality Control at the factory, calls vivo his home. He has been a part of the vivo family since 2017.

“I started my journey as an Assistant Engineer and I can proudly say that I have witnessed significant transition in all these years. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, to say the least and I’m so excited for the next phase.” 

Our journey over this last decade has been nothing short of extraordinary. We have transformed from being a newcomer in the Indian smartphone market to a key player contributing to the country’s smartphone exports and adding to the vision of ‘Make in India’ led by our Honourable Prime Minister.

Our manufacturing story is also one to behold. As a reliable and trustworthy smartphone manufacturer in India, vivo has a world class manufacturing facility, with steadfast focus on quality, and continually strives to improve its manufacturing efficiency. In the 9+ years we have achieved the annual capacity of manufacturing around 60 million units.

And this number could not be achieved without the support of those who work tirelessly behind the scenes. One such key member is Dibya Lochan Sahu, a Mechanical Maintenance Engineer who has been a part of our journey for over 8 years.

“I have travelled across the country to provide training to newcomers and make them understand the functioning of upper management. I have played a key role even in the onboarding process of these members and had to ensure that they understand the nuances of assembly lines and the manufacturing process.” He shared his experience, while remembering his own journey and emphasizing on how vivo pays close attention to personalised training and development. 

As much as the vivo India campus has changed over the past 9+ years, there is one constant. Local manufacturing has been pivotal to our success in the Indian market and our commitment to support the local economy runs deep, in these years,

Our manufacturing facility has benefitted over 15,000 Indians by not only offering employment opportunities and fostering skill development but also by improving the livelihoods of thousands of families.

Let’s hear it from another one of our Maintenance Engineers, Randhir Kumar who has been an integral part of the vivo family for the last 6 years and is now at a Managerial position.

“Every year I’ve worked on new projects at vivo, which have motivated me to perform and strive for the best.” Other than his professional achievements, he also spoke about how vivo fosters a culture of togetherness. “While there is a clear hierarchy at work, I have never felt that my seniors are not approachable. Right from my reporting manager to even the HOD, I can easily reach out to them and I know that they will support me all the way. Transparency is paramount at vivo.”

That sense of community and togetherness is something that Abhinav Kumar Singh, from the Quality department, felt from the moment he started at vivo 5 years ago.

“I joined vivo right out of college and honestly I felt a sense of belonging and comfort even during my probation period. It felt like I belonged right away, got endless opportunities and now I proudly lead a team. Who would’ve thought.”

Another member of our Quality Control team, Reshma who has also been with us for slightly over 5 years, agrees transparency forms the very core of our ‘purpose-driven’ culture.

“The kind of friendships that I’ve built here make me feel like I’m at home. I can share whatever I feel like with my friends here and they are more than just my colleagues. Apart from the personal relationships that I’ve built here, vivo has really supported my professional growth as well – from job security, to advanced training sessions, there’s nothing that the management doesn’t provide us.”

At vivo, our vision and values are clear. We know that success is not just about making phones, it’s also about building partnerships and empowering local talent. Did you know that in the last 9+ years, we have teamed up with over 30 suppliers operating in India, creating direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands, and uplifting India’s manufacturing landscape. We were only the second OEM to establish Surface Mount Technology (SMT) lines in India, thus taking a step further to increase domestic value addition and support the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.

This reflects the core of vivo’s operating philosophy in India: to think beyond short-term gains and develop a collaborative, integrated, and robust ecosystem to help secure sustainable long-term growth for the entire industry.

And it doesn’t stop there. We think sustainably about both our production and our workforce. Let’s hear it from someone who has been a part of our journey for the better part of a decade. An Assistant Manager in the Engineering and Repairs department, Amit Kumar said, “I joined vivo as a technician 8 years ago and this is in fact, my first job. But the nature of the job and the environment here never made me think about switching jobs. I have seen the team grow from around 500 members to around 8000 now, and it makes me swell with pride to have witnessed this growth in front of my eyes.”

As we look ahead, we remain steadfast in achieving our goal – to keep adding value locally, to keep expanding globally, and to keep making India proud. In line with the PM’s ‘Make in India’ vision, we are commissioning a new manufacturing unit in India in 2024.
Our journey may have started small, but with the continued support of our partners, the government and our consumers, we’re aiming for the stars!