In the fourth quarter of 2017, Xiaomi passed Samsung to become the top smartphone vendor in India. Since then, Samsung has been the second largest smartphone vendor in the country. As per the latest data from Canalys, however, Vivo overtook Samsung in the Indian market to take the second position in the first quarter of 2020.
The BBK-owned smartphone maker saw shipments rise by nearly 50% during the quarter, allowing it to capture 19.9% of the market. Samsung’s shipments, on the other hand, dropped by almost 14% during the quarter. While Vivo shipped 6.7 million smartphones between January and March, Samsung shipped 6.3 million units.
Calling Vivo’s victor “bitter-sweet,” Canalys analyst Madhumita Chaudary said in a statement:
The high sell-in this quarter was mainly due to planned stockpiles ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the unplanned lockdown at the end of March has disrupted the vendor’s plans. With IPL postponed, and much of its inventory in offline channels locked out, Vivo will struggle to see a quick sell-through when the lockdown lifts.
Xiaomi continued to hold the No.1 spot in the country, shipping 10.3 million smartphones and capturing 30.6% market share. Realme too registered impressive growth during the first quarter of the year, with an annual growth of 200%. It shipped a total of 3.9 million smartphones, as opposed to 1.3 million units during Q1 2019. OPPO, another BBK-owned smartphone maker, held the fourth spot in the Indian smartphone market in Q1 2020, with 10.4% market share.
Canalys says smartphone shipments in the country will plunge in Q2 2020 due to the lockdown that remains in force up to May 3. Smartphone vendors will also have to continue to deal with supply- and demand-side issues in the near future.
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