More than 65 percent of the total smartphones shipped in the first quarter of 2016 in India were locally manufactured, according to the India Mobile Handset report by CyberMedia Research (CMR). Indian brands constituted 45 percent of the total phones shipped, registering 7 percent growth over the previous quarter.
"While the total contributions as of 1Q'16 were 67% of the shipments, the apprehension that many had in the industry about attracting obsolete technology is proven wrong. Out of total handsets shipped in India, 66% of the smartphones and 60% of the 4G smartphones were manufactured locally. Now, it is time to look at the premium segment where the contribution is negligible," Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst at CMR's Telecom Practice, said in a statement.
According to the report, the average selling price (ASPs) of smartphones reached Rs. 12,983 during this period, 25 percent up from the Rs. 10,364 recorded in the first quarter of 2015. For the first time in India, the shipments of mid-range phones (Rs. 10,000-15,000) overtook those of the devices in the budget category (Rs. 6,000-8,000).
The surge in the shipments of mid-range phones is attributed to the new feature-rich devices launched by Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo, Micromax and Intex. The new entrants, LeEco and Reliance (LYF), too made remarkable sales in the first quarter.
Lenovo's K4 Note, LeEco's Le 1S, Micromax's Canvas Mega 4G, Huawei's Honor 5X and Intex's Aqua Freedom received favourable response in the market, the CMR report said.
Also read: Lenovo to locally make over 50% of phones it will sell in India in 2016
However, South Korean firm Samsung managed to hold on to its first position in the list of the top smartphone makers, with a market share of 28 percent. Indigenous brands Micromax and Intex are placed in the second and third slots with 16 percent and 12 percent share, respectively.
With nine percent share, Lenovo (along with Motorola) is the fourth biggest smartphone firm in India, while Reliance Jio's LYF brand, which is just a few months old in the market, has managed to capture eight percent share and is currently placed fifth in the chart.
Key takeaways of CMR India Mobile Handset report:
- 23.6 million smartphones were shipped in the first quarter of 2016, contributing 45 percent of the overall mobile phone shipments.
- Out of the total smartphones shipped in India, around 67 percent were locally made.
- Samsung, Micromax and Intex still remain the top three players in the overall (feature phone and smartphone) market.
- Mid-range category (Rs. 10,000-15,000) smartphones got sold more than the budget (Rs. 6,000-8,000) segment devices.
- Average selling prices (ASPs) of smartphones up 5.7% Quarter-over-Quarter and 25% Year-over-Year.
