HTC eyes 15% pie of Indian smartphone market in two years

Company recently launched its first sub-Rs 10,000 smartphone Desire 210 for Rs 8,700, its flagship phone HTC One M8 for Rs 49,900

Taiwan-based smartphone maker, HTC, is aspiring to garner a 15% share of the Indian smartphone market in the next 24 months, according to India country head, Faisal Siddiqui.

"Three years ago, HTC's share in the Indian smartphone market was less than 1%. It is now placed at around 6%. The market is growing very quickly and there is a lot of opportunity in the market," he said here on Monday.

Stating that the Indian smartphone market was growing at 80% year-on-year and that around 28 million smartphones were sold in the country last year, Siddiqui said the expectation was that close to 44 million smartphones would be sold this year.

Increasing disposable incomes, proliferation of high-speed networks and plummeting price points are driving the growth, he said, adding that Indians spent 8% of their annual income on buying smartphones. "Despite these, smartphones still make up for only 10% of the total phones in India. This holds promise for us to grow."

HTC recently launched its first sub-Rs 10,000 smartphone Desire 210 for Rs 8,700, its flagship phone HTC One M8 for Rs 49,900 and Desire 816 for Rs 23,900. Sub-Rs 10,000 is a critical price point segment for HTC to be present in, Siddiqui said. "Currently, we have 12 smartphones in our portfolio. We are still finalising our roadmap for this year," he added.