Mobile Handset Shipments Expected to Touch 262 Million Units in India: CMR

With mobile handset vendors shipping 80 million mobile handset units in India in the third quarter this year, the shipments are likely to touch 262 million units by the end of fourth quarter, market research firm CMR said on Thursday.

According to CMR's "India Monthly Mobile Handset Market Review Report for 3Q 2017," mobile handset vendors have shipped around 200 million mobile handset units in the country since the beginning of this year.

The smartphone market recorded 29 percent sequential growth in the third quarter, with 37.5 million units shipped, on the back of the festive season sales.

"The third quarter witnessed the continued leadership of Samsung in mobile handset shipments with a 22 percent market share, and a comfortable 11 percent lead over Xiaomi," said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

The quarter also witnessed Indian mobile handset manufacturers offering bundled entry-level feature phones (Reliance Jio Lyf), which was later replicated by its competition in the entry-level smartphone segment.

"We anticipate this trend to increase in Q4, resulting potentially in an increased market share for the Indian brands. This would also lead to consolidation of handset vendors in sub-Rs. 5,000 smartphone segment. It remains to be seen how this move will benefit Indian brands in countering the Chinese dominance," Ram added.

Xiaomi recorded 84 percent sequential growth in the third quarter, to be on par with Samsung in smartphone shipments.

"However, Xiaomi's future growth will be dependent on its offline channel strategy to counter competition. Q3 also saw the return of Nokia to the top 10 mobile handset brands list, with its growth fueled by its feature phones," said Narinder Kumar, Analyst, CMR.

Shipments of global brands recorded 52 percent sequential growth, while Indian brands grew by 28 percent. Chinese brands had a market share of 44 percent while Indian brands had a 28 percent share.