A new report by CyberMedia Research (CMR) has revealed a new trend in the Indian smartphone industry. According to the report, an increasing number of electronic makers that are engaged in ODM, Original Design Manufacturing are moving to CKD (Completely Knocked Down) manufacturing in India.
With time and push from the government in terms of increase in import tariffs, smartphone makers moved to SKD or Semi Knocked Down manufacturing. Here the device makers imported semi-assembled parts from China and then completed the assembly in India.
CKD does not really mean that the smartphone maker has to import all the parts from India. This also means that the device maker can source original smartphone components from the local market, something that an increasing number of smartphone makers are moving to. According to the report, CKD has increased from 43 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to about 57 percent by the fourth quarter of 2018.
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SKD has declined from 61 percent at the beginning of the year to about 38 percent by the end of 2018. The report also indicated that ODMs including Samsung, Flextronics, and Rising Stars Mobile, three of the top ODMs in the country accounted for more than 50 percent of the market share.
CMR analyst Narinder Kumar issued a statement adding, “SMT manufacturing in India is currently smartphone-centric. There is a clear momentum with all top five major smartphone players, including the likes of Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo ramping up their SMT capacities. When it comes to Indian players, its only Lava that’s showing promise.” He went on to add stating, “Beyond the likes of Samsung and Lava, we anticipate the entry of other major featurephone players into SMT Manufacturing.”