Motorola Replaces Nokia as 4th Largest Smartphone Vendor in India: Canalys

Motorola has overtaken Nokia (now operated by Microsoft) to become the fourth-largest smartphone vendor in India in terms of units shipped in the quarter-ended June, according to a report by market research company Canalys.

Motorola shipped 9,55,650 smartphones in the quarter that ended in June, while Nokia shipped 6,33,720 in the same period, said the analyst company. This is a distinct turnaround when compared to the quarter-ended in March, when Nokia shipped more smartphones (5,83,160) than Motorola (3,79,310) according to Canalys.

Canalys added that Motorola's Moto G sales have helped the former Google company into the top five smartphone brands of the country. "Excellent sales of Moto G help Motorola into the top five," said the report company. Unfortunately, Canalys as well as Motorola has not revealed the total number of Moto G units sold in India since the device's launch in February.

(Also see: 2014: The Year of the Great Smartphone Price Wars)

In addition, Canalys also reported that by the end of June, Samsung, Micromax and Karbonn were the top three smartphone brands respectively, in India in terms of handsets shipped in the period. The study also claimed that Q2 saw the smartphone market grow by 9 percent.

Vendor	Comparison	Units
Samsung	Q1 2014	4,478,170
Samsung	Q2 2014	4,111,280
Micromax	Q1 2014	2,795,850
Micromax	Q2 2014	3,097,010
Karbonn	Q1 2014	1,296,170
Karbonn	Q2 2014	1,077,810
Motorola	Q1 2014	379,310
Motorola	Q2 2014	955,650
Microsoft	Q1 2014	583,160
Microsoft	Q2 2014	633,720

Motorola marked its entry into the Indian smartphone segment after a brief sabbatical in February this year. The company launched the Moto G at an impressive price point, starting the price war with some established handset vendors.

Motorola also chose online retail over physical stores, and announced an exclusive partnership with Flipkart for sales of its smartphones in India.

(Also see: Why Are Mobile Brands Ditching Retail for Online Sales?)

The Moto Xlaunch came a few weeks after the successful stint of the budget smartphone Moto G (Review | Pictures) in the country, also available exclusively via Flipkart.

(Also see: Flipkart eyes long-term Motorola deal after Moto G debut)

The company, in no mood to rest its laurels earned by budget Moto G and mid-range Moto X (Review | Pictures), launched the Moto E in May, once again creating a buzz in the market with its impressive pricing. It also became one of the first smartphones in the sub-Rs. 10,000 category to run Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box at launch.

Notably, ever since the Moto E (Review | Pictures) debuted in India via Flipkart, there have been multiple instances that the handset has gone 'out of stock' and came back 'in-stock'.

Further, Motorola and Flipkart, to woo Indian consumers, have been also offering various discounts and exchange schemes which seem to have helped bolster the sales of the Motorola handsets - Moto G, Moto X and Moto E in India.

For those unaware, Motorola had wrapped up its Mobility business in India and various other countries by end of 2012.