Chinese device maker Vivo has taken third place in the Indian smartphone market despite the overall market slowing in Q1.
Vivo overtook its compatriot Oppo, more than doubling its year-on-year shipments to 4.5 million – an increase of 108% and taking its market share to 15% at the end of March 2019, according to figures from Canalys.
Rushabh Doshi, a research director at the firm, said: “Vivo has made several shrewd marketing investments, which also include signing internationally popular Bollywood actor Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador. But it faces an intense battle in 2019, as Oppo’s Cricket World Cup sponsorship and Samsung’s fresh offensive with the new M series threaten to stifle momentum.”
Overall across India in Q1, 30.1 million smartphones were sold – an increase of just 1.7%. Xiaomi retained first place but saw a meagre 4% jump in sales, while Samsung stayed in second place despite falling shipments. Oppo affiliate Realme was a new entrant into fifth place, selling 1.3 million devices.
