 "Govt allows Chinese smartphone maker Oppo to open stores")
As New Delhi increases pressure on Chinese smartphone makers to appoint more Indians at top managerial positions and distribution levels, the companies are also struggling with a shrinking market share across the globe which has forced them to decrease exports from India. On top of this, the Indian government is also pushing Chinese phone makers to localise their supply chains and drive exports from India, industry experts in the know told The Economic Times (ET).
Industry insiders told the newspaper that the Western markets such as North America and Europe are a no-go for Chinese brands. These are also the markets where Apple and Samsung make their bulk exports, as they manufacture these devices in India. This makes India a key market for Chinese firms, which hold about 74 per cent of the budget phone market in the country, according to the ET report that cited data from Counterpoint Research.
Chinese brands losing market share in the West
The combined market share of Chinese smartphone brands has remained either unchanged or has dipped across markets like Europe, North America, and Japan. These regions have witnessed Apple and Samsung gaining market share as people are increasingly buying more premium devices. This has also resulted in customers using their mobile phones for longer periods, ET reported.
A senior mobile phone industry official told ET, “The Chinese brands are thriving only in India. Even in China, there is pressure after Huawei has taken over the market. They don't have any presence in the US market."
Chinese smartphone makers are also facing challenges in Europe after Nokia filed lawsuits over royalties. Japan does not favour any Chinese products, the official said.
Elaborating on the challenge of setting up manufacturing units in India, Associate Vice President at IDC, Navkendar Singh told ET, “What is the objective to set up manufacturing units outside China? Either you shift some capacity from China, or if it is incremental, then it needs to have an incremental market which must be substituted from the supply that is coming from China. But with demand dwindling globally, the incremental market is not there."
What are the Chinese companies doing?
Chinese smartphone manufacturers have said that they are keen on starting exports from India and they have even taken steps to begin exports to neighbouring markets. For example, Vivo started exports to Thailand and Malaysia, and is working to expand its supply to Saudi Arabia and Bhutan this financial year, the ET report said. Vivo aims to export a million devices in 2023. Another Chinese firm, Xiaomi has partnered with Dixon Technologies to start local manufacturing to begin exports from India.
