Chinese players start exporting 'Made in India' smartphones to West
What's the story
Chinese smartphone and electronics companies have begun exporting products from India to West Asia, Africa, and the US, markets that have long been served almost exclusively by China and Vietnam.
The move comes after the Indian government's encouragement and rising local manufacturing.
OPPO Mobiles India reported ₹272 crore in foreign exchange earnings from exports in FY24, while Realme Mobile Telecommunications (India) earned ₹114 crore during the same period.
Their regulatory filings submitted to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) reveal.
Strategic shift
Hisense Group's export plans
The Hisense Group, a leading Chinese brand in TVs and home appliances, intends to start exporting locally manufactured goods from India to West Asia and Africa by early next year.
This marks a major strategic shift for Chinese brands in India, which have mostly focused on the domestic market.
The change comes amid heightened government scrutiny of Chinese firms after border conflicts with China in 2020.
Export expansion
Lenovo and Motorola's plans
Lenovo Group has also planned to export servers and laptops from India. Its smartphone division, Motorola, already exports devices to the US from Dixon plants.
The phones are manufactured by Dixon Technologies, which is expanding its capacity by 50% to meet rising export demand.
Dixon also makes smartphones for Chinese firm Transsion Holdings, which has started exporting to Africa.
Local partnerships
Chinese smartphone brands' export initiatives
Smartphone brands like OPPO, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus, and Xiaomi are now partnering with Indian businesses and some have already started exports.
However, none of the Chinese firms operating in India have appointed Indian nationals as managing directors or chief executives so far.
Some of these export initiatives are backed by India's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which supports contract manufacturers rather than the Chinese brands directly.
Smartphones emerged as India's top export category in FY25, with outbound shipments rising 55% year-on-year.