Vivo Overtakes Samsung in Indian Smartphone Sales for Q1: Report

Chinese smartphone makers Xiaomi is currently leading the charts in terms shipments in India.

Vivo V17 Pro was the last phone to be launched in India by the Chinese company.

Photo: Sumit Badola/The Quint

The smartphone industry in India is in dire straits as manufacturers have been hit hard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The malady has restricted smartphone makers from making deliveries of their stock and halted the production of new smartphones.

This move has taken a toll on some of the big names in the industry namely Samsung which according to a report by Canalys has conceded its second position in the Indian market to Chinese smartphone brand Vivo.

The first quarter of 2020 has been pretty dismal from smartphone makers. (Photo: Canalys)

This success for Vivo translates to 19.9 percent of the market share in India which is currently topped by Xiaomi which has 30.6 percent. Samsung with 18.9 percent sits at the third position.

Vivo has consumed the bigger share of the pie this year as its shipments in the first quarter of 2020 grew from 4.5 million in the same quarter to 6.7 million today which is a 48.9 percent jump.

The report also mentions that the growth in shipments is due to the "planned stockpiles ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL)."

It should also be noted that Vivo is the title sponsor of the IPL which is the flagship domestic cricket T20 tournament in India that rakes in crores of rupees from advertisements and broadcast rights.

Vivo was banking on the success of the tournament to gravitate its sales. However, due to the coronavirus, the tournament had to be suspended which has surely affected Vivo’s plans.

Selling its existing stockpile is going to be a challenge for Vivo when the current market sentiment is more focused on conservative spending.

Meanwhile, it’s surprising that India’s overall smartphone shipments went up by 12 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020. This despite the national lockdown which began on 23 March.

At the moment, the sale of smartphones has been prohibited by the Ministry of Home Affairs in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, there hasn’t been an official announcement on when the sale, service, and production of smartphones will resume in the country.