HTC to quit Indian smartphone market

HTC is leaving the Indian smartphone market, according to an Economic Times report.

HTC South Asia President Faisal Siddiqui, sales head Vijay Balachandran and the product head R Nayyar have already quit the company.

The company has asked most of their 70 to 80-member team to leave. The company plans to sell virtual reality devices from Taiwan.

HTC may look at re-entering the market as an online-only brand but as of now, they are quitting.

An HTC spokesperson said they will continue to sell its smartphones and invest in India at the right time in right segments.

Many distributors have alleged that HTC has not yet paid their dues and they plan to pursue legal action. “HTC owes money in several crores,” one distributor said.

HTC spokesperson said they are trying to work with channel partners so that they can carry out the business smoothly.

HTC shipped only 630,000 products in Q1 of this year globally, compared to 2 million in the last year. Its latest flagship phone, U12 has also not performed well.