Shenzhen Transsion Holdings (Transsion), a China-based consumer electronics maker emerging from African markets, is seeing its smartphone market share rising in India, posing threats to established South Korean and Chinese vendors.
Business Standard, citing Counterpoint Research, reported that three brands under Transsion, Tecno, Itel, and Infinix, increased their combined smartphone market share from 6.3% in 2022 to 8.6% in 2023, closing in on their Chinese counterparts like Oppo. Meanwhile, the top five smartphone brands by market share in India saw their combined share fall from 80% to 73% in a market moving from concentration toward fragmentation.
The primary reason for Transsion's growth in India can be attributed to a polarizing market, where India saw growing sales in premium and entry-level handsets, with brands targeting mid-level segments, such as Xiaomi, impacted by weak demands.
Business Standard quoted Shilpi Jain, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, saying that brands under Transsion showed adaptability in a competitive market.
Despite being based in China, Transsion generated over 90% of its sales from overseas markets. According to its semi-annual report, the company was the top smartphone brand in India and ranked first and sixth in the Pakistani and Indian smartphone markets.
Still, Transsion faced several legal and tax issues in India. According to its corporate filings, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has been investigating Ismatu India Private Limited, an Indian subsidiary of Transsion, regarding customs duty for display components imported before September 30, 2021, and Transsion, anticipating tax payments and penalties related to the investigation, had made provisions for potential tax liabilities and deferred penalties.
Meanwhile, KMC Electronics alleged S Mobile Devices Limited India, an Indian subsidiary under Transsion's Itel Technology Limited Hong Kong, used the former's trademark ITEL on their products, constituting trademark infringement and causing the plaintiff's reputation and economic losses. The trademark dispute is still under trial.
Source: IDC, December 2023
Transsion sales by product (CNYm) | ||||
Date | Smartphones | Feature phone | Other products | Other businesses |
2019/6 | 7,318.96 | 2,379.62 | 467.39 | 338.20 |
2019/12 | 10,264.73 | 3,662.76 | 508.93 | 405.34 |
2020/6 | 10,267.31 | 2,492.90 | 537.04 | 548.40 |
2020/12 | 19,112.34 | 4,013.75 | 566.18 | 253.96 |
2021/6 | 18,360.31 | 3,316.69 | 827.69 | 348.75 |
2021/12 | 20,938.17 | 3,578.78 | 1,514.49 | 527.03 |
2022/6 | 18,513.29 | 2,741.47 | 1,509.06 | 344.83 |
2022/12 | 18,105.61 | 3,158.07 | 1,899.92 | 323.64 |
2023/6 | 20,154.00 | 2,848.34 | 1,576.87 | 450.19 |
Source: Transsion, August 2023
