The Demise of Motorola in the Indian Smartphone Market

Lenovo-owned handset major Motorola may have become popular in the global smartphone market in recent years, but it has failed to cement its position in India, which is the second largest smartphone market in the world. Once a popular player in the affordable and mid-price segment in the country, the company’s phone business is slipping as competition from its Chinese counterparts mount. According to Counterpoint Research, Motorola India’s smartphone shipments declined 70% year-on-year (YoY) in 2018. The brand sunk from the sixth spot in 2017 to 12th in the market in 2018.

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“Motorola shipments declined due to the competitive product portfolio of Realme and Xiaomi. Motorola did not refresh its portfolio as compared to other Chinese players which were offering better specifications at competitive prices,” Karn Chauhan, Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

In August 2015, Chinese tech giant Lenovo announced it would merge its existing smartphone division, including design, development and manufacturing, into the Motorola’s Mobility unit. However, the Motorola brand launched devices three times less than other leading brands in India in 2018.

“The brand has not been able to grow at a pace it could have, sheer on its brand value. After the Lenovo-Motorola merger, the brand, as well as the portfolio positioning, has gone haywire. There was no distinct positioning between the Lenovo and Moto brands,” Faisal Kawoosa, Founder and Principal Analyst of market research firm techARC, told IANS.

“Moto was always seen as a brand for evolved users, something which OnePlus capitalised on. Had the Lenovo-Motorola Business Group (MBG) played its cards well, Moto could have been what OnePlus is today,” Kawoosa added.