Premium smartphone battle intensifies in India as Vivo takes on Apple, Samsung with X200 Series

Vivo India team at X200 series launch event in New delhi

Chinese smartphone brand Vivo has sharpened its competitive edge to take on giants like Apple and Samsung in the premium smartphone segment with its camera-centric X200 series in India. The company seeks to leverage the growing premiumisation trend as consumers increasingly opt for upgraded, high-quality devices.

“We focus on delivering the right product for our customers. Our premium segment (Rs 30,000 and above) market share grew from 2 percent in 2020 to 16 percent in Q3 of 2024,” a Vivo spokesperson told Moneycontrol. “We aim to further strengthen our position in this segment with the X series expansion. Some V-series models like V40 Pro priced above Rs 40,000 are also helping grow the share.”

Highlighting the company’s strategy, the spokesperson said: “Indian consumers are increasingly gravitating towards premium products across categories, and our goal is to penetrate deeper into this segment.” This year, Vivo, India’s top smartphone brand by volume, expanded its premium X-series lineup, launching the X100, X Fold 3 Pro, and the X200 series. The X series is priced above Rs 50,000 in India.

Vivo launched the X200 series, comprising X200 and X200 Pro, smartphones in India on December 12. The X200 Pro is priced at Rs 94999, while the X200 starts at Rs 65,999. The company, however, decided not to bring the X200 Mini smartphone to India and said the consumer demand is inclined towards bigger phones.

“This demonstrates our commitment to executing our strategy in India,” the spokesperson said.

According to Counterpoint Research and IDC, Vivo-led the Indian smartphone market in terms of volume from July to September. The company attributes its growth in the premium segment to its extensive offline retail network.

In their Q3 report, counterpoint analysts said Vivo maintained healthy inventory levels throughout the year, which helped it reclaim the top spot in the Indian smartphone market with a 26 percent on-year growth, supported by a diverse product portfolio.

"Vivo stood at No 1 slot in shipment unit terms with a share of 15.8 percent and YoY growth of 20.0 percent, while in terms of value, it's at No 4 slot after Apple, Samsung, Oppo with a share of 11.4 percent and YoY growth of 4.3 percent. This was driven by stable annual growth over the quarters with multiple new launches across price segments through the Y series, mid premium V series," said Upasana Joshi, senior research manager at IDC.

In terms of portfolio split, 85 percent shipments are below $300, while 15 percent in $300-500. "Constant offline channel support through the festive season, high channel margins, and schemes helped garner offline share, while maintained its online presence with T series," she said.

As per IDC, the premium smartphone category ($600-800) saw remarkable growth, increasing 86 percent year-on-year. This category ow accounts for 4 percent of the overall market, up from 2 percent a year earlier. Apple held a leading 28.7 percent value share in the segment during Q3 2024, followed by Samsung, Oppo and Vivo.

The entry-premium ($200-400) segment registered a strong growth of 42 percent YoY, at 28 percent share, up from 21 percent a year ago, as per IDC data, according to IDC.

The Chinese handet maker is scaling up its manufacturing capabilities in India to support its growth. The company committed to investing Rs 7,500 crore to double its production capacity from 60 million units annually and build India as a global export hub. Phase 1 of this plan, involving Rs 3,500 crore, has been completed with the operationalisation of its Greater Noida factory.

“We’ve moved to our new factory in Greater Noida, and while operations are underway, some production lines still require optimisation,” the spokesperson said.

Vivo began exporting India-made smartphones last year, with shipments to Bhutan and Malaysia from its older Noida facility and existing exports to Saudi Arabia and Thailand.