Vivo smartphone colossus launches an all-new production facility next to Huawei research complex
Vivo Mobile Communications launched a new manufacturing facility in Dongguan last Wednesday, a move that comes mere weeks after it opened its primary HQ in Shenzhen. A host of similar projects have been announced recently, which highlights the current building boom taking place in the Chinese tech industry.
The facility had commenced construction back in 2017. With an estimated monthly production capacity of 6 million smartphones and 20000 employees, this manufacturing complex will be at the forefront of Vivo’s push into global markets, stated the company.
The production complex comprises 14 buildings, dormitories, and various other amenities, which are spread out over 34.5 hectares of land. It’s a part of the company’s latest push to expand its Asian manufacturing base with new plants being planned in Indonesia, India, and Chongqing. A representative of the company stated that it had no additional comments to offer other than this announcement.
Interestingly, Huawei Tech’s Ox Horn Campus, which is an R&D facility located near Dongguan’s Songshan Lake, is just 20 km away from Vivo’s new manufacturing facility.
Lately, Vivo has been expanding its production capacity on all fronts as it seeks to improve its global sales figures. Huawei, the second-biggest smartphone vendor in the world, is currently stuck in the crossfire between China and the US. The US had earlier imposed trade sanctions that severely crippled the telecom equipment manufacturer.
Although it began as a company focused on producing medium- and low-priced smartphones, Vivo is now attempting to break into the premium smartphone segment as it seeks to research and develop new components for a 5G ecosystem.
Research firms Canalys and IDC estimated that Vivo was the 5th biggest smartphone maker in the world in Q1 2020. However, another research firm named Counterpoint placed it at the 6th position, behind Oppo.
As Chinese tech firms increase their global influence and power, a lot of them are also spearheading sprawling development projects in Shenzhen. But these constructions aren’t simply restricted to workspaces either.
It paid a whopping 1.3B yuan or $186MM to construct its 32-storey HQ in Shenzhen, which is estimated to be fully completed by 2025. After it is opened, it will house over 6000 employees. NBBJ, the architectural design company handling this project, revealed that the buildings would have spiraling exteriors with self-shading glass and indoor gardens on every level.
Vivo recently shifted its research center from Beijing to another location within the capital, where it’s expected to continue its research into developing components for the 5G ecosystem.
Rival smartphone maker Oppo has also begun constructing a new Shenzhen headquarters. Out of the project’s 4 planned towers, the highest one will be over 200 meters tall and contain a whopping 42 storeys. It is estimated to be fully constructed by 2025.
Tencent Holdings had also announced an urban construction project named Net City that’s set to begin construction this year. NBBJ, a Seattle-based design firm will be heading the project, which will be located in the Dachanwan port area in Shenzhen and spread out over 132.6 hectares.
ByteDance, a Beijing-based company that owns the famous short video making app TikTok, purchased land worth over 1.1B yuan in Shenzhen. The latest reports suggest that the company’s Southern China HQ will be built here.
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