Xiaomi beats COVID-19 blues, logs 30% market share in India in Q1 2020

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi managed to beat the COVID-19 blues in India in the first quarter (January-March) this year, registering its highest market share - at 30 per cent in terms of shipments - since Q1 2018, a new report said on Friday.

Vivo with 17 per cent and Samsung at 16 per cent were the second and third player, respectively.

Realme with 14 per cent share was the fastest growing brand (overall 119 per cent) during the quarter, followed by OPPO (over 83 per cent), Apple (over 79 per cent), Transsion (more than 78 per cent) and Vivo (over 40 per cent).

Xiaomi, which logged 27 per cent in Q4 2019, lead the India smartphone market with a 6 per cent (YoY) growth in Q1 2020.

"This was driven by the strong performance of its Redmi Note 8 series. Offline expansion, customer focus, and affordable pricing strategies also helped Xiaomi to expand its consumer base," according to Counterpoint Research's Market Monitor Service.

Vivo grew 40 per cent in Q1 2020 driven by strong performance Y series models.

Vivo exited the quarter with low inventory which helps the brand have a good command over its market planning and new launches. However, its flagship V series launch was delayed as a result of COVID-19.

Samsung's shipments were driven by its upgraded A and M series (A51, A20s, A30s, and M30s).

The South Korean giant Samsung managed to hold 3rd position in Q1 2020 due to launches across several price tiers, especially in the affordable premium segment (S10 Lite, Note 10 Lite). However, it declined sharply YoY due to an 84% decline in shipments in the sub INR 10K (~$130) segment which was captured by realme, Xiaomi and Vivo.

Realme grew 119 per cent (YoY) driven by the newly launched 5i and C3. It was the first brand to launch a 5G-enabled phone in the India market (realme X50 Pro 5G).

Offline expansion, strong value propositions and aggressive branding helped realme to achieve this growth, said the report.

OPPO shipments grew 83 per cent in Q1 2020, due to demand for its budget segment devices, A5 2020 and A5s, as well as a good performance for the recently launched A31 and A9 2020 in the offline segment.

"Samsung was the number one premium (Rs 30,000 and above) smartphone brand surpassing OnePlus in its flagship launch quarter. OnePlus' growing presence in the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000 and above) will help it to expand within the same segment with its new 8 Pro series," said the report.

India saw its first 5G smartphone launches during the quarter from realme and iQOO.-IANS