The Chinese smartphone vendors are gaining market share in India as per the IDC report. India is the second largest smartphone market in the world and the Chinese smartphone vendors have managed to capture about 40 percent of the market share in the country. The Chinese players like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei, and others have ventured into new markets throughout 2016.
According to the research firm, IDC, the Chinese smartphone manufacturers are gaining the market share over the past few years. The South Korean OEM, Samsung Mobiles has secured its top position in the Indian smartphone market in terms of shares (26.1 percent), whereas the Chinese vendor, Lenovo managed to procure second place with market share of 13.4 percent. Lenovo also markets its Motorola-branded smartphone in India which accommodates the high-end market, while the Lenovo smartphones are generally offered in mid-range or budget segment.
Indian customers are even more price sensitive than Chinese users, Ni Fei, co-founder, and CEO of Nubia Technology, said.
The third position is captured by Xiaomi, which is also a Chinese company. The firm has managed to secure 10.7 percent of the market share. Surprisingly, the IDC report didn’t mention the market share of the other Chinese smartphone vendors. The report stated that the Chinese firms collectively held 40 percent of the market.
While the Chinese smartphone makers are gaining the shares in India, the domestic manufacturers have witnessed a huge decline in smartphone sales. Micromax which was once at the top position has gone through a 16.7 percent month-over-month drop in sales in October. Intex mobiles is also experiencing a pressure as its market share dipped to 5.3 percent in October.
Besides the price factor, the tariff and patent rights could also deter the growth in India, as per the analysts. The patent disputes of Chinese smartphone vendors Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo are there in recent years.
Interestingly, Oppo is planning to build an industrial park in India and invest CNY 1.5 billion (USD 215 million) for the same. By doing this, the company will get ease to bring down the manufacturing cost. Oppo already has a factory based in Greater Noida.