Chinese smartphone brands in India annihilate Indian automakers: Xiaomi tops the standings, Vivo tops

India is a lucrative market for smartphone manufacturers, which has attracted the biggest business players in this part of the subcontinent. Chinese players have flocked to India in large numbers to take advantage of business growth, fame and profits. As a result, brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and others recorded record growth and almost eliminated local competition out of the race.

According to the latest report from Counterpoint Research, the market share of Chinese brands in India would now reach 66% in the first quarter of 2019. The sales volume of Chinese smartphone manufacturers has increased by 20% in India compared to the year former.

"The Indian smartphone market continues to attract a lot of attention from global and Chinese players, as data consumption is rising and users are updating their phones faster than other regions. This has prompted users to spend more on their overall average selling price purchases in the market, which means that premium specifications are spreading faster in average price brands, and we believe this trend will continue to lead to competitive middle market segment over the next few quarters. "Tarun Pathak, associate director of Counterpoint, said in a statement.

Keeping in mind the most important outlets, Chinese manufacturers offer products that appeal to the masses. Xiaomi continued to dominate the market despite falling market share to 31% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to 31% in the same period last year. Of the five best-selling phones in the quarter, three belonged to Xiaomi. The Redmi 6A was the bestseller, followed by Redmi Note 6 Pro and Redmi Y2.

Samsung's renewed strategies to better compete with its Chinese rivals have helped the Korean tech giant stay on top of it. It gained a 23% market share in the first quarter of this year and two of its latest releases, Galaxy M20 and Galaxy A50, were the fourth and fifth best-selling sales during the quarter. Samsung is also the only non-Chinese OEM to be in the top 5.

While the dominance of Xiaomi and Samsung was expected, Vivo's growth was remarkable. The company ranks third, with a 12% market share and shipping volumes surged 119%. Aggressive marketing and an expanding portfolio in the mid-segment boosted Vivo's growth.

It is interesting to note that Realme, a new entrant, arrived on the list with a market share of 7% in the first quarter of 2019, while Oppo was in fifth place. Oppo has grown 28% year-over-year, the report added.

As far as Indian brands are concerned, 2019 is not a good start and their future is bleak. "Indian brands achieved their lowest market share due to continued competition in the smartphone segment, with a lack of refreshment, strong competition and slow growth in the core segment, where they held a significant one of the reasons for their decline, "said Counterpoint.