Samsung ups ante in tussle with Apple for Indian market dominance

Samsung Electronics is manufacturing its new Galaxy foldable devices — the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 — in India to better serve the high-volume populous market there, the latest salvo aimed at countering Apple's plans for its premium smartphone range.

Samsung Electronics' experience store at Palladium Mall in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India which opened in July. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics is manufacturing its new Galaxy foldable devices — the Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 — in India to better serve the high-volume populous market there, the latest salvo aimed at countering Apple's plans for its premium smartphone range.

The Korean smartphone maker has predominantly kept the manufacturing of its high-end models in Korea, but the decision shows its commitment to the Indian market and to expanding its presence in the premium smartphone range.

Samsung Electronics will manufacture the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 at its Indian factory in Noida to handle local demand for the latest foldables, which will shorten the delivery time of the new Galaxy Z orders placed in India.

"The Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 will be manufactured at the Indian factory for the local market," said a Samsung Electronics spokesman Tuesday. "Whether to export the India-made foldables has not been decided yet."

The company, which has been manufacturing smartphones in India since 2007, doubled its annual capacity to 120 million units in 2018, under India's incentive schemes to grow into Asia's electronics manufacturing hub.

The production facilities were mainly used to produce Samsung's budget lineup. The Galaxy S23 series was Samsung's first high-end models to be locally produced in India right after its launch. Its Z Flip 4 and Fold 4, for example, started production in India, four months after its launch.

━ Samsung bets big in India

Samsung's stakes with the latest foldables in India are high.

"India is among the countries that are fast adopting foldable phones," said Samsung Electronics President Roh Tae-moon in a recent press conference in Seoul.

"Its premium smartphone market is growing at a rapid pace and Indian consumers have a high interest in new technology and are fast in adapting them. We expect the Galaxy foldables to work well in the Indian market. We plan to strengthen localized functions to gain more market share in India."

Samsung plans to open 15 new experience stores across nine cities in India by the end of this year, to expand its points of contact with local consumers.

India has emerged as a vital market for Samsung and Apple due to its rapidly growing expanding smartphone segment.

The local premium smartphone market grew by 112 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023 amid a 3 percent decline in general smartphone shipments, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung grabbed the top spot in the smartphone segment last year with a shipment value share of 22 percent followed by Apple with 18 percent, the market tracker said.

Globally, Samsung lags far behind Apple in the premium smartphone market by grabbing 16 percent last year, following Apple with 75 percent.

━ Apple's shift to India from China

Apple is upping its ante in the Indian market too.

The Cupertino, California-based tech giant opened two of its first offline stores in India early this year, one in Mumbai and the other in New Dehli, with both openings attended by its CEO, Tim Cook. Bloomberg suggests three more are coming in the next few years.

Apple's production base is also shifting away from China to India after experiencing a major supply disruption due to the Covid-19 lockdown as well as threats from geopolitical tensions.

Apple's partner Foxconn recently announced its $194 million investment in a new plant in India's Tamil Nadu where electronic components will be made.

India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in January said Apple plans to ramp up its local manufacturing from the current 5-7 percent to 25 percent, followed by a Bloomberg report in March that Foxconn plans to invest about $700 million in India to expand its local production of iPhones in the southern state of Karnataka.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]