TAIPEI: Buoyed by stronger-than-expected pre-orders for the latest ZenFone 2, Asustek Computer Inc last week moved forward the release date of ZenFone Laser in India and said it aims to secure a 5 percent market share in that nation next year.
The Taiwanese PC maker has sold more than 1.6 million units of its ZenFone series since it tapped into the Indian smartphone market in July last year, securing a 2 percent share in the Indian market.
“Asustek aims to sell 3 million handsets in India this year and achieve a 5 percent market share in the nation next year,” Asustek India managing director Peter Chang said on Tuesday.
Asustek received more than 30,000 pre-orders for the ZenFone Laser in India after the phone was unveiled last month, Chang said.
The sales date of the ZenFone Laser in India was moved forward to Tuesday last week from a previously scheduled date of Saturday.
“Being a new entrant in the market, consumers have accepted the brand with such great enthusiasm that we had to reset the sales date of our latest offering,” Chang said.
India is among the fastest-growing smartphone markets among the emerging markets this year. International Data Corp (IDC) forecast a total of 109.44 million smartphones would be sold in India this year, jumping as much as 33.75 percent from last year’s 81.82 million units.
By comparison, China’s smartphone shipments this year would only grow 1.2 percent annually to 426.24 million units, IDC forecast.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co has the largest share of the Indian market, with 23 percent, followed by domestic company Micromax Informatics Ltd with 17 percent, IDC said.
Indian smartphone brands Intex Technologies Ltd and Lava International Ltd account for 11 percent and 7 percent in the market respectively, while China’s Lenovo Group Ltd has the fifth-biggest market share, IDC said.
To take advantage of the fast-growing market, Asustek has teamed with Indian e-commerce site Flipkart.com to sell its phones in 660 cities and dispatched more than 400 sales representatives in 120 direct stores, Chang said.
In July, the company also began working with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co to make smartphones in India, he added.
Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp also seeks to capitalize on the rapidly growing Indian smartphone market. In April, it inked an agreement with Indian contract manufacturer Global Devices Network Co to make entry-level and mid-priced handsets in the nation, with production beginning in July.
HTC chief financial officer Chang Chia-lin in July told investors that the company had seen “tremendous” growth in shipments and sales in India, adding that sales and shipments grew 150 percent annually there in the first quarter of the year.
