According to a study by Counterpoint Research, indigenous smartphone shipments declined 8 per cent on year-on-year (Y-o-Y) during the quarter ended (QE) September 2022, to reach over 52 million units. This marks the first decline reported this year. Counterpoint believes economic headwinds that led to a decline in consumer demand, and market uncertainties due to geopolitics to be the prime reasons for the contraction.
Commenting on the local manufacturing ecosystem, Prachir Singh, Senior Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said, “The made-in-India smartphone shipments declined in QE September 2022 as compared to QE September 2021. Two major forces impacted the growth of such smartphone shipments. First, the decline in consumer demand, especially in the entry-level segment, due to the negative macroeconomic indicators. Second, the high channel inventory at the start of the quarter also impacted the manufacturing during the quarter. The country’s smartphone manufacturing ecosystem continues to grow with almost 63 per cent of such shipments coming from in-house manufacturers and 37 per cent from third-party EMS players. Oppo led the made-in-India smartphone shipments during the quarter with a 24 per cent share, followed by Samsung and v-Vivo. BYD and Lava were the fastest-growing manufacturers in terms of smartphone shipments. Further, we will continue to see PLI disbursements in subsequent quarters, which will add to the local manufacturing landscape. Overall, the manufacturing trend is witnessing an upward trajectory with multiple partnerships happening in recent months, like the ones between Tata Group and Wistron and between Foxconn and Vedanta.”
On the government’s focus, Priya Joseph, Research Analyst, Counterpoint Research, said, “On the regulatory front, despite the adverse global climate, the Indian smartphone market has remained resilient. The government’s efforts to bring about a supply chain shift and make India a manufacturing hub with constant policy interventions in the form of PLI schemes has helped the country to attract major global players across the value chain. Further, the government is actively pursuing the target of expanding the local value addition from the present 17-18 per cent to 25 per cent in the near future.”
Going forward, the research firm believes that the manufacturing volumes will grow with an increasing focus of the OEMs to export to other countries. Increasing local value addition and exports have been the main focus points of the government under the ‘Make in India’ scheme.
