Asustek has presented to the Indian market its latest smartphone, Zenfone 2 Laser, on September 8, earlier than the anticipated September 19.
Asustek has already secured a two per cent market share, having sold more than 1.6 million units of its ZenFone series since it entered the Indian smartphone market in July last year.
“Asustek aims to sell three million handsets in India this year and achieve a five per cent market share in next year,” Asustek India managing director Peter Chang said last Tuesday (Sept 8).
The Taiwanese PC maker has received more than 30,000 pre-orders for the ZenFone Laser in India after the phone was unveiled last month, Chang disclosed.
“Being a new entrant in the (Indian) market, consumers have accepted the brand with such great enthusiasm that we had to reset the sales date of our latest offering,” Chang said.
International Data Corp (IDC) has projected a 109.44 million smartphone sale in India this year, an increase of 33.75 per cent from last year’s 81.82 million units, rating India among the fastest-growing smartphone markets.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co has the largest share of the Indian market, at 23 per cent, followed by domestic company Micromax Informatics Ltd with 17 per cent, according to IDC.
Indian smartphone brands Intex Technologies Ltd and Lava International Ltd account for 11 per cent and seven per cent, respectively.
Asustek has teamed with Indian e-commerce site Flipkart.com since July to sell its phones in 660 cities and have dispatched more than 400 sales representatives in 120 direct stores, said Chang.
It has also started working with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co to make smartphones in India.
In April this year, Taiwan’s HTC Corp has signed an agreement with Indian contract manufacturer, Global Devices Network Co, to make entry-level and mid-priced handsets.
In July, HTC chief financial officer Chang Chia-lin told investors that the company sees “tremendous” growth in shipments and sales in India. Its sales and shipments grew 150 per cent annually there in the first quarter of the year.