Buoyed by increasing demand, growing exports and government initiatives, “Made in India” smartphones have been gaining momentum.
According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Make in India service, smartphone shipments increased 7 per cent year-on-year in Q1 2022 to reach over 48 million units.
According to the report, despite global component shortages, the local smartphone manufacturing ecosystem has remained resilient.
As per Senior Research Analyst Prachir Singh, “Smartphone manufacturing is increasing in India. In 2021, the shipments of ‘Made in India’ smartphones crossed 190 million units. The increasing smartphone demand, as well as increasing exports, are the major reasons for the continued growth.”
“Support has also come from the Indian government’s initiatives to increase local manufacturing.”
However, Singh added that the manufacture of feature phones declined 41 per cent YoY in Q1 2022 due to falling demand in the past few quarters.
Third-party EMS providers take the major share
Third-party EMS (electronic manufacturing services) providers captured a 42 per cent share of local manufacturing in the smartphone segment, recording a 4 per cent YoY growth in terms of shipments.
Bharat FIH was the top EMS provider in Q1 2022, followed by Dixon Technologies.
“However, in-house manufacturing capabilities have also grown. In-house smartphone manufacturing share crossed 58 per cent during the quarter,” Singh said.
Oppo, Samsung lead ‘Made in India’ smartphone shipments
Oppo led ‘Made in India’ smartphone shipments with a 22 per cent share, followed by Samsung at 21 per cent. Vivo, Bharat FIH and Dixon rounded out the top five, with 11.7 per cent, 11.3 per cent and an 8.6 per cent share, respectively.
In the feature phone segment, however, EMS’s share crossed 68 percent in Q1 2022.
Lava led the “Made in India” feature phone shipments with a 21 per cent share.
“Among the third-party EMS providers, Flex, Bharat FIH and Dixon Technologies led the feature phone segment,” Singh said.
According to Research Analyst Priya Joseph, “The government’s focus has been to make India a manufacturing hub. It has taken a lot of initiatives in this direction. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for mobile handsets proved to be an accelerator for local manufacturing.”
“Similar PLI schemes have been introduced by the government in other strategic sectors such as solar, semiconductors, automotives, and electronic products. In times of uncertainty triggered by the pandemic, war, and other factors, the government feels it is important to have a resilient economy that can sustain such shocks. Signing up for the recent Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) is one such example of the government’s intention to make clear its goal of becoming the next tech hub,” added Joseph.
Moving forward, India’s handset manufacturing is expected to grow by 4 per cent YoY in 2022, the report said.
“Also, the increasing local value addition will drive the idea of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”,” the report further added.