HTC expects to ring in higher sales in India

NEW DELHI: Taiwanese handset maker HTC expects India revenues to grow very strongly this year, driven by the increased traction towards its mid segment smartphones, which the company aims to expand further.

Faisal Siddiqui, India head at HTC, said the country remains the third-largest smartphone market for the company. He said the jump in sales in India will help the company increase its market share to 15% from 4% faster than anticipated.

Siddiqui said the mid-segment will be the focus of HTC and it will come up with more smartphones in the coming months. HTC is likely to launch the successor of its successful Desire 816 smartphone, called Desire 820, in India this week

The mid-range segment —Rs 15,000-25,000 — saw more than 100% growth in the first half of the current year, according to gadget research website 91mobiles.com.

Vendors launched 35 smartphones in India in the first half of 2014 against 17 in the year-ago period. Retailers say while HTC’s sub Rs 12,000 devices have been successful, the company’s mid-range smartphones have received an even better response from the consumers.