Vivo's parent firm, BBK Electronics, owns 40% of India's smartphone market

Vivo India's share jumped from 10% in 2017 to 15% in 2021; sister concern Realme's quadrupled in last 4 years

In the three years till 2020-21, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo’s India arm recorded a total revenue of Rs 66.985.7 crore. Although income from operations had dipped in 2020-21 by a percentage, in 2019-20 the company had recorded an increase of over 45 per cent – from Rs 17,201.7 crore to Rs 25,060 crore.

An Enforcement Directorate investigation has now found that Vivo transferred nearly half of its turnover of Rs 1.2 trillion to China to avoid paying taxes in India. The investigating agency also seized funds worth Rs 465 crore kept in 119 bank accounts related to the mobile phone manufacturer.

While Vivo India might be in trouble with the authorities, a Business Standard analysis has found that despite people rallying against Chinese products, companies such as Vivo have steadily increased their market share in the country.

Analysis of data from Counterpoint Research shows that Vivo’s share in India’s smartphone market — calculated using shipments as a proxy — increased from 10 per cent in 2017 to 15 per cent in 2021. And in the first quarter of 2022, it remained steady at 15 per cent (see chart 1).

Vivo’s sister concern, Oppo, however, did not enjoy similar growth. Its share increased from 9 per cent in 2017 to 10 per cent in 2021. But significant gains were made by another one of Vivo’s sister companies, Realme, the share of which went from 4 per cent in 2018 to 15 per cent in 2021. In the first quarter of 2022, Realme’s share increased further, to 16 per cent (see chart 2).

Vivo, Oppo and Realme are all owned by BBK Electronics, a Chinese multinational conglomerate. Data indicates that together, the share of these three smartphone manufacturers almost doubled during this period (2017 -2021). And in the first quarter of 2022, they held the biggest chunk of the Indian market – 40 per cent.

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Meanwhile, another Chinese manufacturer, Xiaomi, lost its edge – after nearly doubling its share from 19 per cent in 2017 to 28 per cent in 2018. In the first quarter of 2022, it accounted for 23 per cent of the market.

Samsung, too, did not perform any better. Its share decreased from 24 per cent in 2017 to 18 per cent in 2021. In the first quarter of this year, though, Samsung’s share went up again to 20 per cent. The company’s efforts during the pandemic to shield itself from supply-chain problems, which are plaguing other manufacturers, are yielding results for now.

Meanwhile, Vivo’s success is not just a local phenomenon. According to Gartner, Vivo’s share in global sales increased from 7.9 per cent in 2020 to 9.5 per cent in 2021.