Vivo ships 6.7 million units in Q1 2020; dethrones Samsung as the second most sold smartphone brand in India

While Xiaomi maintains its domination as India’s top-selling smartphone brand, there has been somewhat of a shakeup in second place. For the first time ever, Vivo managed to ship more phones in India than Samsung.

According to technology market analyst firm Canalys, Vivo shipped more smartphones than Samsung in Q1, 2020. The company’s smartphone sales nearly doubled year-on-year to 6.7 million units, which accounts for about 20 percent of India’s smartphone market.

This was enough to secure a second-place behind Xiaomi which shipped 10.3 million units and held a market share of 31 percent. Meanwhile, Samsung shipped 6.3 million units which placed it in the third position, ahead of Realme and Oppo.

The report also suggests that India’s smartphone market grew by 12 percent, despite the country going into lockdown midway through March.

Interestingly, Vivo, Realme, and Oppo, three of India’s five top smartphone brands, are all part of Chinese conglomerate BBK Electronics. If combined, all the brands under BBK Electronics – including OnePlus – would account for than 40 percent of India’s smartphone market share, easily dethroning Xiaomi from the number one spot.

Canalys Analyst Madhumita Chaudhary says it is a bitter-sweet victory for Vivo. “The high sell-in this quarter was mainly due to planned stockpiles ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the unplanned lockdown at the end of March has disrupted the vendor’s plans. With IPL postponed, and much of its inventory in offline channels locked out, Vivo will struggle to see a quick sell-through when the lockdown lifts.”

The report also suggested a great year for BBK Electronics in India. Vivo and Oppo both recorded an annual growth for 48.9 percent and 22.4 percent, respectively, while Realme saw shipments sore by 200 percent over the past year.