India remains fertile ground for China smartphone majors, shows data

Big chunk of sales comes from the country despite legal troubles

India remains among the dominant markets for Chinese smartphone brands, despite their brush with the local authorities.

  Data from Counterpoint Research highlights the robust performance of these players in India. Oppo, a key Chinese brand, expanded its global smartphone sales volume share from India — from 31 per cent in 2023 to 36 per cent by Q3 of 2024. Vivo, its sibling under the BBK Electronics umbrella, maintained a 58 per cent share from India.

  Both brands have been embroiled in legal troubles in the country, including searches by the Enforcement Directorate and the Directorate of Revenue intelligence (DRI) in 2022 over allegations of tax evasion and money laundering. The situation escalated in late 2023, with the arrest of senior Vivo executives.

 

  Xiaomi, another major player in the Chinese smartphone cohort, has faced similar headwinds. In 2022, it was slapped with a Rs 653 crore import duty evasion notice, followed by show-cause notices in 2023 from the adjudicating authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Nevertheless, its reliance on India remains steadfast. The market accounted for 23 per cent of Xiaomi’s global sales in 2023, a figure that dipped marginally to 22 per cent by Q3 2024.

  OnePlus, a BBK subsidiary, has cemented India as its most critical global market, with the country accounting for 79 per cent of its worldwide sales volumes in 2023. While this dipped slightly to 76 per cent by September 2024, the brand’s focus on India remains unshaken.

  Realme, a sister company of OnePlus, has pivoted its strategy. India’s share of its global volumes declined from 46 per cent in 2023 to 37 per cent in 2024 (until September) as the company focused on expansion into Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

  In contrast, Transsion, targeting the Middle East and Africa, attributes 10-15 per cent of its global sales to India, according to Counterpoint Research data. Not all Chinese brands have found footing in India. Huawei and Honor, for instance, have remained peripheral players. 

Still, China itself remains a crucial market for many of these smartphone companies: as of H1 2024, 52 per cent of Vivo’s volumes and 42 per cent of Oppo’s came from their home turf, compared to just 25 per cent for Xiaomi.

  India’s appeal is self-evident — it is the second-largest mobile phone market globally, trailing only China. Chinese brands have struggled to replicate their success in the United States, the world’s third-largest market. According to Ankur Malhotra, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, “There has been government scrutiny on Chinese brands, but consumer sentiment towards these brands has remained steady over the past two to three years. Chinese brands now control nearly three-fourths of India’s smartphone market, leaving consumers with limited alternatives.”This dominance underscores a broader structural challenge: The paucity of competitive, homegrown brands, which remain confined to select price segments.