Mobile shipments may touch 262 million units by the end of Q4 2017

According to CMR's India Monthly Mobile Handset Market Review report for 3Q 2017, with mobile handset vendors shipping 80 million mobile handset units in India, the shipments are likely to touch 262 million units by the end of fourth quarter

The smartphone market recorded 29 percent sequential growth in 3Q 2017, with 37.5 million units shipped, on the back of the festive season sales. Alongside, promotional offers on online and offline channels contributed to the growth, the report said.

"The third quarter witnessed the continued leadership of Samsung in mobile handset shipments with a 22 percent market share, and a comfortable 11 percent lead over Xiaomi," said Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group (IIG), CMR.

"Interestingly, Xiaomi recorded 84 percent sequential growth in 3Q 2017 to be on par with Samsung in smartphone shipments. However, Xiaomi's future growth will be dependent on its offline channel strategy to counter competition. 3Q also saw the return of Nokia to the top 10 mobile handset brands list, with its growth fueled by its feature phones," Narinder Kumar, Analyst, CMR.

"While 4Q will see the introduction of several marquee flagship brands, the India market will continue to be driven by the affordable (Rs 7K) and value for money (Rs 7K-25K) segments. We anticipate a modest uptake for marquee brands in the initial run." Prabhu added.

The firm also estimates the mobile handset shipments to clock 262 million units by the year-end, with feature phones ruling the roost with 141.6 million units and smartphones accounting for 124 million units.

The quarter also witnessed Indian mobile handset manufacturers offering bundled entry-level feature phones (Reliance Jio Lyf), which was later replicated by its competition in the entry-level smartphone segment.

Shipments of global brands recorded 52 percent sequential growth, while Indian brands grew by 28 percent. Chinese brands had a market share of 44 percent while Indian brands had a 28 percent share.