Xiaomi Leads Indian Smartphone Market In Q3 2018; Vivo, Oppo Retain Top-5 Positions: Counterpoint

The three Chinese smartphone companies together shipped highest number of smartphones in a single quarter.

Chinese smartphone brands Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have managed to secure a big market share in India’s mobile phone sector in the third quarter, showing no signs of weakness despite global slowdown. Just yesterday, we came across a report from Canalys, which stated that Xiaomi has shipped more than 12 million smartphones in India during the third quarter. This is a growth of 32 percent on a yearly basis, which also makes it the largest smartphone vendor in India.

Chinese investor Wang, who focuses on cross-border investment between China and India, told Global Times that he thinks the biggest reason for Xiaomi’s popularity in India is because its phones are relatively cheap. A Chinese telecommunications expert attributed Xiaomi’s success in India to the fact that its “geek” image is welcomed by local consumers.

“Xiaomi’s localization strategies, such as adding tailored designs for local consumers in their products, as well as doing local promotion, work well in India,” Liu Xingliang, head of the DCCI Internet research institute, told the Global Times.

Vivo and Oppo, on the other hand, shipped 4.5 million and 3.6 million units, respectively, in India in the third quarter. This is an increase of 12 percent for Vivo, whereas Oppo declined by two percent, yet securing third-and fourth positions respectively. Samsung, on the other hand, slipped by two percent, while still managing to be the second-largest smartphone vendor in India.

Tarun Pathak, associate director at Counterpoint Research said, “This is the first time that the global smartphone market has declined for three consecutive quarters. It can be attributed to a weakening demand in developed markets like China, USA and Western Europe which account for almost half of smartphone sales globally. The lack of meaningful innovation and improvement in smartphone build quality is leading to lengthening replacement cycles.”

Chinese smartphone vendors have been adding features such as dual cameras, full-screen displays, AI chops, higher storage and memory configurations, all of which has helped the companies increase their average selling price, while maintaining revenue despite a decline in shipments.

“Huawei was also able to maintain over 50 million smartphone shipments and retain its 2nd position in 3Q 2018. This suggests that the companies are reducing their dependence on their home country. The brands will further expand outside China as they push into Asia Pacific countries and Europe,” Pathak added.

Research Analyst Shobhit Srivastava noted, “Chinese OEMs are driving up the ASP in the low to mid-tier price segments in emerging markets by offering competitive specifications at affordable prices. These OEMs have also carved out an “affordable premium” segment targeting users that cannot afford flagship devices. It will take more than an affordable smartphone offering to make users switch from their feature phone to a smartphone in the short-term.” – BGR