Chinese firms extend dominance in smartphones with 45% local market share

Samsung holds top slot with 24% share, Xiaomi next with 15.5%

Chinese handset makers have increased their share of the Indian smartphone market to 45 per cent in the June quarter from less than 20 per cent a year ago. 

Counterpoint Research estimates four Chinese smartphone manufacturers, Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Lenovo have more than doubled their combined market share in a year.

South Korean electronics major Samsung holds on to the top slot but its market share declined to 24.1 per cent in June from 25.6 per cent a year ago. Xiaomi took the second slot with a 15.5 per cent market share, up 2.5 percentage points from 13 per cent in March. 

Xiaomi has also managed to unseat Samsung as the maker of the top selling handset. Its Redmi Note 4 was the most sold device with a 7.5 per cent market share, followed by Redmi 4 (4.5 per cent). Samsung’s J2 was at third place with a 4.3 per cent market share.

Vivo, the third largest player, has managed to increase its market share to 12.7 per cent in June from 12 per cent in March. Oppo, lost market share, from 10 per cent in March to 9.6 per cent in June. Lenovo took the fifth spot with an 8 per cent market share.

“Chinese players continued to outspend their rivals during the quarter, riding on the IPL and the Champions Trophy cricket tournaments. These brands also benefitted from a refreshed portfolio in the Rs 10,000-20,000 price segment,” said Karn Chauhan, analyst at Counterpoint Research. Counterpoint Research said shipments in June were affected by the rollout of the goods and services tax. The market remained flat during the quarter.

The transition of users from feature phones to smartphones was slow during the past few quarters and smart feature phones from Reliance Jio could reduce the pace further, Counterpoint Research pointed out.

Sales of smartphones in the Rs 15,000-20,000 price segment grew the fastest. Samsung had a 55 per cent share of the premium segment of handsets above Rs 30,000, followed by Apple with a 30 per cent share. Samsung’s shipments of premium handsets grew 13 per cent over the last quarter on demand for its flagship S8 series.