Xiaomi and Oppo to import smartphones from China to meet market demands in India

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted various economies and industries. The smartphone business is no exception with OEMs struggling to restart production in many parts of the globe, especially in India. Now, Xiaomi and Oppo are starting to import smartphones from their home country of China to meet the market demands as their Indian factories are still struggling to resume operations. For those unaware, the Indian government had imposed a nationwide lockdown two months prior, which even saw factories being shut down due to the ongoing crisis. However, unlike with the case of China, smartphone vendors have been struggling with the resumption of operations in the region, with various resumed production sites being sites of confirmed COVID-19 infections, thus causing another closure
Two of the most popular brands in the Indian market, Xiaomi and Oppo are also suffering from this issue. The latter’s plant in Great Noida also closed down last month, only to recently open but with a 30 percent capacity. Similarly, other vendors like OnePlus and Realme are also considering importing as an option during this time. Although, this move would have the companies facing a 22 percent import duty, which will inevitably raise their handset offerings’ prices.
Xiaomi India officials have recently stated that the company is currently at a 40-45 percent production capacity, with Vivo being at a similar level. Notably, the Chinese tech giant has already raised the cost of a few of its affordable low end smartphones in the market, and this trend could soon be reflected in its other offerings as well. Although, we will have to wait and see as to how the situation plays out in the near future as the Indian government is slowly easing its restrictions within the country.