Chinese smartphone brands are exploding in India: IDC Report

Data from IDC shows that among Chinese smartphone brands, Lenovo leads in India, not Xiaomi, reports Tech in Asia

India saw a record high 26.5 million smartphones shipped in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest data from IDC. That represented another new record, as smartphones grew to account for 44% of the overall mobile market, meaning that India is close to the tipping point of seeing more smartphone than feature phone sales.
 

While smartphones are booming in India, the overall mobile market is, surprisingly, still contracting slightly. A grand total of 59.4 million mobile shipments in Q2 2015 are down on the 63.2 million units in the same period in 2014.

Kiran Kumar, research manager with IDC’s India mobile phone team, says that growing usage of e-commerce – both by consumers and some phone brands – has helped push smartphones forward. E-commerce has “opened additional avenues for growth for many vendors in India, who would have otherwise struggled to get a hold in the complex distribution network,” he stated.
 

Image courtesy: Tech in Asia

Lenovo and Xiaomi, two Chinese brands, have benefitted most from embracing e-commerce in India.
 

All Chinese brands operating in India tripled their shipments year-on-year in India and doubled quarter-on-quarter, the IDC report says. Lenovo, Xiaomi, Huawei and Gionee alone accounted for 12% of the total smartphone market in the second quarter – a figure that’s doubled from a year ago.
 

While Xiaomi gets all the headlines, it’s actually Lenovo that leads the Chinese firms in India. Lenovo is the sole China brand in the smartphone top five in India. Here’s the top five at present:

• 1st – Samsung
• 2nd – Micromax
• 3rd – Intex
• 4th – Lava
• 5th – Lenovo

While Xiaomi is being outpaced by compatriot Lenovo, the new data augurs well for the fast-growing gadget maker as it makes the Indian market a priority.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.