Xiaomi says it has shipped over 200 million smartphones in India amid crackdown

It has shipped over 200 million phones in India, showing how large of a presence it has in the world's second largest phone market.

At a media conference on Wednesday, the Chinese giant promised future commitment to the country after revealing the figure. It took five years for the first 100 million phones to be shipped from China to India. According to the company, it has held the tentpole position in India for the past year.

At a time when Indian authorities are cracking down on Chinese phone makers, there is an announcement.

Chinese phonemakers have been accused of tax evasion in India. The companies denied doing anything wrong. China's embassy in India criticized Indian authorities for "frequent investigations" into local units of Chinese firms and warned that such moves "impede the improvement of [the] business environment" in India.

Tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighboring nations increased in 2020 after a skirmish at the border.

Several Chinese firms have been restricted by India. New Delhi has banned hundreds of Chinese apps in the last two years due to national security concerns. New Delhi amended its foreign direct investment policy in 2020 to require neighboring nations to seek approval from New Delhi for their future deals in the country.

While India cuts its reliance on Chinese software and capital, it still doesn't have the infrastructure to make a similar hardware venture. New Delhi has launched lucrative incentives to boost local hardware production in India in recent years, but analysts say it will likely take several years for such efforts to show meaningful impact

China has four of the top five vendors in India. In the past ten years, Chinese and South Korean manufacturers have launched more competitive devices at better prices, which has lost relevance to Indian manufacturers.

Most phones in India are priced below $200. The budget-conscious market has been the focus of the company since it began operations in India. In the past, the company has said that it never makes more than 5% profit on hardware products.

For the first two years after entering India, the company relied on online sales to cut costs. It has established a presence in brick-and-mortar markets, which continues to drive sales in the nation.

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