Samsung Electronics Drops to 3rd Place... Chinese Vivo Surpasses Samsung in Indian Smartphone Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Joselgina] Samsung Electronics has once again been defeated in the Indian smartphone market in the first quarter. Chinese Vivo, which led with mid-to-low-end devices, surpassed Samsung Electronics for the first time on a quarterly basis, pushing Samsung to third place.

According to market research firm Canalys on the 27th (local time), despite lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian smartphone market grew by 11.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. The shipment volume in the first quarter reached 33.5 million units.

By company, Chinese Xiaomi shipped 10.3 million units, up 9.4% year-on-year, maintaining the top market share at 30.6%. Vivo expanded its shipment volume from 4.5 million units to 6.7 million units, nearly a 50% increase, rising to second place. Vivo's market share was 19.9%, surpassing Samsung Electronics' 18.9% by 1 percentage point. This is the first time Vivo has overtaken Samsung Electronics in the Indian market.

Samsung Electronics, which ranked first in the Indian market as recently as 2018, was pushed down behind Xiaomi and Vivo. Its first-quarter shipment volume shrank from 7.3 million units to 6.3 million units. Market share also dropped from 24.4% to 18.9%. Among the top five smartphone companies in India, Samsung Electronics was the only one to see a decrease in shipment volume in the first quarter.

Following them, Chinese Realme and Oppo shipped 3.9 million and 3.5 million units respectively, recording market shares of 10.4% and 8.5%.

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Samsung Electronics' market share in the Indian smartphone market has been declining continuously since 2018. In contrast, Chinese brands emphasizing mid-to-low-end devices have shown strong performance. Canalys stated, "While Xiaomi still leads the Indian market, competitors have had mixed results," adding, "Continuous investment in local production and supply chains is aligned with efficient online and offline strategies."

The Indian smartphone market is expected to experience a sharp slowdown starting from the second quarter. Mahumita Chaudhari, an analyst at Canalys, evaluated, "Vivo's victory is both sweet and bitter," explaining, "The high shipment volume in the first quarter was due to stockpiling planned ahead of the Indian Premier League, but since the end of March, sales plans have been disrupted by COVID-19 lockdown measures."