- Wistron is resuming its operations at Karnataka-located facility
- Smartphone manufacturing units in Noida and greater Noida are falling under red zones
- The global smartphone market declined its fastest ever in Q1 2020
With ministry of home affairs giving green signal to start various industrial operations in the country, some smartphone makers have resumed operations. Others, falling in red zones, are trying to seek clarity from local administrative bodies, on whether to start operations or not.
The global smartphone market declined its fastest ever, down 13 per cent YoY in Q1 2020, according to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service. This is the first time since Q1 2014, that the smartphone market has fallen below 300 million units in a quarter.
In Q1 2020, OEMs with components and factories in the worst hit areas of China were exposed the most, for example, Lenovo. In the second quarter, the trend will be reversed, as China’s manufacturing recovers, but many other manufacturing centers are closed.
Red and green zones
Wistron, the contract-smartphone manufacturer for Apple iPhone 7 is resuming operations at its Karnataka located facility. However, the likes of Realme, Oppo, Vivo and Dixon are still trying to seek clarifications from local authorities. It is to be noted here that most of these have plants located in Noida and Greater Noida.
Dixon which also has facilities in Dehradun and Tirupati, has already started operations at its Dehradun facility. The company is also in the process of applying to start operations in Tirupati and Noida based facilities.
Interestingly, the sales of smartphones, in April 2020, were zero. While the OEMs might be sitting on existing inventories, it is still unclear how the markets will react once they are open. Manufacturing for India or exports might continue to be a big question for these companies for some time now.
