Sony contemplating India-only budget Xperia phones

Sony Mobile may be planning to launch entry-level Xperia smartphones exclusive to the Indian market according to a report by the Economic Times. Kenichiro Hibi, Sony managing director, has said that India is one of the few countries seeing rapid growth, even outpacing China. Therefore, this requires a separate strategy to that adopted by Sony Mobile Global.

“Sony may not globally have models in the Rs 8,000-10,000 range, but we have to launch such models in India to survive in this tough market where there are almost 100 smartphone brands,” said Hibi. These phones could even have a ‘Made in India’ tag, with Sony thinking about manufacturing the phones in the country.

Sony currently has a 10% smartphone market share in India and is targeting the 15% mark. It wants to try and emulate the success seen on the television side, where Sony has a 30% share. Sony recently launched smaller and cheaper 22-inch and 24-inch TVs, helping to boost market share. The company hopes to adopt a similar strategy on the smartphone side within India.

Via ET Tech.

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