Xiaomi’s India challenges mount with plunging sales and frozen assets amid rising geopolitical tensions with China
- Xiaomi’s India smartphone shipments tumbled 41 per cent in the first quarter, taking it to fourth place after previously dominating the market for five years
- The gadget maker is among multiple Chinese firms to face investigations in the market, with the government freezing US$676 million in company assets
Once the top smartphone brand in India for five straight years, Xiaomi ranked fourth in the first quarter with shipments of 5 million handsets, making up 16.4 per cent of the market, according to the latest figures from IDC last week. That was down from 8.5 million units in the same period last year, when the Beijing-based smartphone giant was still the No 1 player in the market.
“The shipment decline of Xiaomi was mainly because the vendor was focusing on clearing its inventory amid weak consumer demand locally,” said Will Wong, an analyst at IDC. “Nevertheless, this is a good move as this short-term, painful plan is expected to bring a more resilient structure, especially since profitability and cash are crucial in the uncertain environment.”
Xiaomi’s struggles come in part from sinking smartphone sales in general, both globally and in India, as consumers hold onto devices longer. In India, smartphone shipments fell 16 per cent in the first three months of the year to 31 million units. Samsung led the quarter with 6.2 million units, followed by Chinese brands Vivo and Oppo.
However, Xiaomi has been hit especially hard by deteriorating relations between the world’s two most populous countries.