For phones, Indians think China again
Chinese smartphone brands are seeing volumes go up once again after falling from a peak in 2020, despite continuing government scrutiny. But their cumulative revenue share is falling amid the strengthening premiumisation trend as iPhones and Samsung devices are favoured by customers at the top end.
The cumulative market share of Chinese smartphone brands — Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Realme, Transsion, Motorola — rose to 75% in the March quarter, after hitting a low of 61% in the July-September period, according to Counterpoint Research.
This was achieved on the back of a shipment rebound by the top brands such as Xiaomi and Vivo after a few tepid quarters in 2023 due to low demand and inventory bottlenecks, the research firm said. It added that smaller brands such as Motorola and Transsion have also expanded their footprint in the market.
Chinese Cos Dial Into Offline Sales
The current volume share has inched closer to their peak of 77% achieved in Q1 2020, before geopolitical tensions between Beijing and New Delhi disrupted their operations.
This had since triggered a series of probes by various government agencies and even arrests of executives at the Chinese brands.
«The government scrutiny and investigations on the top brands did not have any impact on sales, as consumers remained mostly indifferent, opting for the Chinese brands for the value for money they offered on their products,» said Tarun Pathak, research director, Counterpoint Research.
Chinese smartphone brands have been maintaining a stable volume
