Xiaomi Maintains Lead in Indian Smartphone Market Despite Setbacks

In the past, Xiaomi has consistently performed well in the Indian market and even held the top position in the smartphone industry. However, following fines totaling 550 crore and funds worth 4.8 billion being frozen by the Indian government, a series of appeals and legal maneuvers eventually led to the cancellation of the penalties and asset freezes. Nevertheless, these events still significantly disrupted Xiaomi’s operations.

Surprisingly and yet as expected, Xiaomi’s resilience shone through. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the Indian smartphone market experienced a remarkable surge, growing by 28% year-on-year with a total shipment of 38.2 million units. Xiaomi captured a market share of 18.8%, securing the top spot, followed by vivo at 17.8% and Samsung at 16.2%. Compared to the third quarter where Xiaomi held a 16.6% market share, ranking second, the brand’s market share rose, attributing the success to the strong market reception of the Redmi 12 series. Samsung, with a market share of 17.2%, maintained the top position for four consecutive quarters, while vivo claimed the third spot with a 15.9% market share. The strong performances of Xiaomi and Vivo in the fourth quarter underscore the undeniable strength of domestic Android smartphones.

Additionally, in the fourth quarter, domestic smartphone manufacturers such as OPPO, Realme, and Transsion also demonstrated positive results in the Indian market. Analysts attribute this strong performance in the Indian market to the convergence of two main factors: the holiday season driving consumer demand and purchasing power, and the consumer shift to newer smartphone models due to the rapid development and adoption of 5G networks in India. Consumers increasingly desire high-speed, low-latency network experiences, fueling the impressive growth in smartphone shipments in India.