India Approves Vivo-Dixon, Chinese Brands Start to Chase Smartphone Exports

JAKARTA - India has approved a joint manufacturing venture between China's Vivo and local electronics manufacturer Dixon Technologies. This decision opens up new opportunities for Chinese brands to expand the production and export of smartphones from India, after Apple first made the country one of its global production bases.

TechCrunch, quoted Friday, July 10, reported that the approval was granted on Thursday. With the permission, Vivo can resume a manufacturing partnership that has been long delayed since it was announced in December 2024.

A joint venture is a company formed jointly by two or more parties with certain shares. In this scheme, Dixon holds 51 percent of the shares, while Vivo has 49 percent. That way, majority control is in the hands of the Indian company.

The investment passed after being examined under Indian rules that have been in place since 2020. The rules require additional oversight for investments from countries that share land borders with India, including China.

In its filing with the stock exchange, Noida-based Dixon said the joint venture would take over a number of Vivo's manufacturing assets. The new company will produce part of Vivo's smartphone orders in India and could also make electronics for other brands.

This model is important because Chinese smartphone brands now have to move more cautiously in India. After the India-China border clash in 2020, New Delhi tightened investment rules from neighboring countries.

At the same time, a number of Chinese brands such as Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi have also faced tax and regulatory investigations in India in recent years. Therefore, partnering with a local partner with majority Indian ownership seems like a more stable option.

India itself is enjoying a surge in smartphone production. Apple and its suppliers, including Foxconn and Tata, are expanding iPhone production in the country to reduce dependence on China.

Government incentive support also attracts global electronics manufacturers. The results are beginning to be seen in exports.

According to data from Counterpoint Research shared with TechCrunch, Apple now accounts for 57 percent of India's smartphone exports by volume.

In contrast, Chinese brands control 72 percent of smartphone sales in the Indian market, but their contribution to exports is still less than 10 percent. This distance shows the large space that can still be pursued if Chinese brands start to make India an export base like Apple.

Counterpoint Research Director Tarun Pathak said local partnerships such as Dixon-Vivo provide a more stable operating model for Chinese brands. The scheme is also in line with India's push to increase the role of local players in electronics manufacturing.

"This joint venture agreement creates a win-win situation for both players," Pathak told TechCrunch.

According to Pathak, a structure with majority Indian ownership gives Vivo stronger policy alignment. On the other hand, Dixon gets production scale to deepen local value addition and pursue exports.

Vivo has actually been producing and exporting smartphones from India for years. However, this joint venture approval marks a shift to a manufacturing model that is majority owned by Indian companies.

Vivo is also still a big player in the Indian market. Counterpoint noted that the Chinese smartphone vendor maintained its top position in the first quarter with a shipment share of 23 percent.

For Dixon, this deal could add an annual production volume of around 20 million to 22 million smartphones, based on Vivo's current sales. The figure refers to comments by Dixon Managing Director Atul Lall in the company's performance presentation in May.

The additional volume is big for Dixon, India's largest electronics manufacturing services company. The growth of the public company is increasingly dependent on these types of manufacturing contracts.

Dixon has also produced smartphones for Xiaomi. With the entry of Vivo, Dixon's position as a manufacturing partner of global and Chinese brands in India is getting stronger.