Electronics

It was reported on the 8th that the Indian government is trying to restrict Chinese companies from selling mobile phones priced below 12,000 rupees (about 1,018 yuan) in the Indian market. India’s move will force Chinese smartphone companies to withdraw from the low-end mobile phone market below 1,000 yuan. , to promote the development of India's local smartphone industry. However, the Indian media believes that India's local mobile phones are not capable of filling the market gap after the withdrawal of Chinese mobile phones.

According to Bloomberg, according to market research firm Counterpoint, smartphones below 1,000 yuan accounted for one-third of India's mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2022, of which up to 80% were occupied by Chinese companies. The best-selling mobile phone brands of Chinese companies in the Indian market are mostly concentrated in the range of RMB 400 to 3,400 yuan. The best-selling mobile phone brand is Xiaomi, and the average price of Xiaomi mobile phones in the Indian market in the past three years is around 999 yuan. Other Chinese brands such as Transsion and Gionee are below this price line, while OnePlus and Vivo are generally priced above the thousand-yuan mark.

In the current public reports, there is no mention of what specific measures India will take to restrict Chinese companies from entering the low-end smartphone market. Similar operations are not new in India. For example, India did not have a clear decree to restrict China's Huawei and ZTE's communication equipment from entering the Indian telecom market, but these two Chinese manufacturers have actually been banned from entering India's 5G market. Since July this year, Indian law enforcement authorities have raided the production and operation sites of many Chinese mobile phone manufacturers in India, and Chinese smartphone suppliers such as Xiaomi have been accused of money laundering or evasion of tariffs.

Indian media reported on the 9th that demand for smartphones in India is shrinking due to rising inflation and high input costs, leading to high retail prices, according to a quarterly report released by market research firm IDC on Monday. The average selling price of smartphones in India reached a new high of $213 (approximately Rs 16,957) in the second quarter of 2022.

The relevant person in charge of Chinese companies in India believes that the rumored restrictions sound far-fetched. If India strictly implements the measures, many Chinese mobile phone brands targeting the low-end market in India may withdraw from the Indian market.

Taking Xiaomi as an example, Bloomberg analyzed that if India imposes a ban on Chinese mobile phones of 1,000 yuan, Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments may drop by 11%-14% annually, or 20 million to 25 million units, and sales will drop by 4%-5%.

According to the analysis, the Indian government is trying to introduce a ban on Chinese mobile phones in order to revive local Indian brands. Taron Pathak, research director of the smartphone field at Counterpoint Research, said that in the field of mobile phones below 1,000 yuan, Samsung mobile phones account for about 15% of the market share, and local mobile phone manufacturers in India account for about 4%-5% of them. Pathak warned that if Chinese mobile phones below 1,000 yuan are completely banned, Indian mobile phones will not be able to fill this market gap in the short term.

Nakendar Singh, research director of IDC India, also believes that if such a ban is implemented immediately, existing Indian mobile phone manufacturers will not be able to fill the gap in the market of this size.

According to Indian media analysis, most Indian mobile phone brands currently have limited influence, but they have never given up on the market. Local Indian brands Lava and Micromax have launched several new smartphones since mid-2020, following a boycott of Chinese brands triggered by the Sino-Indian border conflict. Katri, a partner at retail chain Mahesh Telecom, said local Indian manufacturers, including Lava and Micromax, have been trying to increase their sales by "increasing their marketing efforts" at offline retail stores following the recent government crackdown on Chinese brands. Influence. But Katri added that Indian brands do not have the scale of Chinese brands in terms of shipments.