Xiaomi remained the top smartphone vendor in India with 27 per cent market share, while India-based Micromax returned to the top five for the first time in two year. (In this photo, the newly launched Redmi 6 Pro)

Xiaomi remained India’s leading smartphone vendor in the third quarter of 2018, but India-based player Micromax marked a return to the top five after two years, according to the latest data from Counterpoint Research firm. The numbers showed that India’s smartphone shipments reached an all-time high in this quarter, and the market saw 24 per cent quarterly growth and 5 per cent yearly growth. Data also showed that Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo and OPPO recorded individual highest ever shipments in a single quarter.

“Even though the quarter started modestly, smartphone shipments picked-up and reached an all-time record due to strong sell-in by brands in August and September. Key brands kicked-off their festive campaigns early this year by launching new models as early as August. This has given them ample time to prepare and align with festive season sales across online channels that started from early October,” Anshika Jain, Research Analyst with Counterpoint said in a press statement.

She also noted that the record shipments happened at a time when the Indian Rupee has hit a record low against the US Dollar, which is impacting supply chains and product planning for the brands. India’s shipments surpassed those of the US during the quarter, according to Counterpoint.

In terms of price points, the $150-$250 price segment contributed to almost one third of the volume during the quarter. The top five individual vendors include Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, Micromax and Oppo followed by others. Counterpoint also notes that Oppo’s data does not include Realme, which initially launched as a sub-brand of the Chinese player.

Read more: Xiaomi Redmi 6 review: Good performance and battery life at a budget

According to Counterpoint, Xiaomi had 27 per cent market share and recorded its highest ever shipments in India in a single quarter. This was primarily driven by the new Redmi 6 series, which was introduced in this quarter with three phones: Redmi 6, Redmi 6A and Redmi 6 Pro. Xiaomi’s expansion in offline channels also helped it grow. The Pocophone Poco F1 saw strong shipments early on, as well.

Samsung, which is number two with 23 per cent market share, had record shipments driven by J series with devices like J6 and J8 demand driving growth. Number three player Vivo had 10 per cent market share, and the launch of V11 and V11 Pro helped drive record growth.

Micromax was the surprise entry at number four with 9 per cent market share. The reason for this is that the company won an order from the Chhattisgarh government, under which it will be the sole supplier of five million smartphones to be distributed to the women and students in the state. But this return will be short-lived as Counterpoint expects shipments to decline following completion of the order.

Oppo was number five on the list with 8 per cent market share driven by F9 series. Other brands which saw growth were the Transsion Group, which includes brands like itel, Tecno, Infinix. In fact, Infinix grew 65% on an yearly basis.

Data also showed that Realme shipped one million within five months of launch across online channels and was the first brand to achieve this. Realme 2 was the most popular model, said Counterpoint.  In case of Honor, which is owned by Huawei, shipments were driven by Honor 7A and Honor 9N. For Asus, the Zenfone Max Pro drove the shipments for Asus. Nokia and HMD Global also did well in the quarter.

In the premium segment, OnePlus 6 shipments remained strong and the brand continue with the number one spot.