Google moving Pixel smartphone production to Vietnam from China - report

Google will be moving its Pixel smartphone production to Vietnam from China, the Nikkei has reported, with sources saying that the company has been working this summer on the conversion of an old Nokia factory in the northern Vietnamese province of Bac Ninh. The idea is to move production of US-bound hardware outside of China, including Pixel phones and Google Home smart speakers. The company also wants to double shipments this year as part of an aggressive campaign, the report continued. Google is hoping to ship 8-10 million smartphones this year, double from the year before. 

The factory in Vietnam will be part of a low-cost supply chain in Southeast Asia to help fuel those hardware ambitions. Google is working with a partner in Bac Ninh, where Samsung has also developed a smartphone supply chain over the past ten years. Under current plans, Google will shift some production of the Pixel 3A phone from China to Vietnam before the end of this year, the sources said. For its smart speakers, some production will likely move to Thailand, but the company's new product development and initial production for its hardware lineup will still be in China. 

"Google are likely to keep some activities inside China. The US company knows that if it is going to be serious about making hardware, it could never give up the massive Chinese market," one of the sources said. "However, they also understand that, due to rising costs and the macro-environment, they need to have production outside China for the long term in order to support their hardware manufacturing."