Chinese brands rule Indian smartphone market with two-third of its share: report

Led by Xiaomi with volumes rising 20 per cent on the back of popularity for brands like Vivo, RealMe and Oppo

BENGALURU: Chinese brands controlled a record 66 per cent of the Indian smartphone market in the first quarter, led by Xiaomi, a report showed, with volumes rising 20 per cent on the back of popularity for brands like Vivo, RealMe and Oppo.

Xiaomi’s India shipments fell by 2 per cent over last year, but the Beijing-based company was still the biggest smartphone brand in the country, followed by Samsung, according to Hong-Kong based Counterpoint Research.



Shipment volumes for Vivo jumped 119 per cent, while those of Oppo rose 28 per cent.

“Vivo’s expanding portfolio in the mid-tier range ($100 to $180) drove its growth along with aggressive Indian Premier League cricket campaign,” Counterpoint analysts said.

India is the world’s fastest growing market for smartphones, where affordable pricing coupled with features like “selfie” cameras and big screens have popularised Chinese brands.



Video streaming services like Netflix and Hotstar, as well as heavy usage of messaging apps like Facebook’s WhatsApp,  have further spurred demand.

“Data consumption is on the rise and users are upgrading their phones faster as compared to other regions,” Counterpoint’s Tarun Pathak said.

“As a result of this, the premium specs are now diffusing faster into the mid-tier price brands. We estimate this trend to continue leading to a competitive mid-tier segment in coming quarters.”