Beyond the US, India's smartphones carve out a larger share in UK, Italian and Dutch markets

But making inroads into the UAE's smartphone imports, a major Indian buyer, poses a challenge for now

  • Published:
  • 05/08/2025 12:11 PM

Technicians working at a mobile phone’s production and assembly line, inside a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Greater Noida, UP. Image: Amit Verma

Buoyed by the government’s push in mobile phone manufacturing, India’s smartphone exports have carved out a significant share in a number of economies in Europe, apart from the US. However, making inroads into the UAE’s smartphone imports, a major Indian buyer, poses a challenge for now.

Over the last two years, the US has emerged as a top destination for India’s smartphone exports. The country has a considerable share in the US smartphone imports, accounting for 14 percent in 2024 compared to under 2 percent in 2022. New Delhi has notably dented a large share of Vietnam’s smartphone imports into the US; which has shrunk from 19 percent to under 5 percent in two years. In the same period, China’s imports into the US have ballooned and reached 81 percent in 2024.

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Given the considerable reliance of the US on Chinese smartphone imports and in the backdrop of trade tensions between the two nations, Apple announced a pivot away from China and positioned India as a significant alternative to its iPhone manufacturing.

India’s smartphone exports to the US have risen six times from $1 billion in 2022 to over $7 billion in 2024.

For the UK, even though China still remains the major smartphone exporter, India makes up about a fifth of all its smartphone imports in 2024 from under a tenth in 2022. In terms of value, India’s smartphone exports to the UK have doubled to over $2 billion between 2022 and 2024.

Similarly, smartphones assembled in India have managed to make considerable inroads into Italy’s imports, surging ahead of Vietnam.

Despite making similar gains in The Netherlands, however, the country has steep competition from imports coming in from Vietnam and Hong Kong. China’s share in the Dutch imports of mobile phones has dipped between 2022 and 2024.

Besides relying on China, the UAE is pivoting toward Vietnam for its smartphone imports. Despite importing Indian assembled smartphones worth $3 billion, the country’s share in the Emirati imports has dipped by a percentage point between 2022 and 2024. Though China still retains the top spot as the prime exporter to the country, Vietnam has managed to carve out a larger chunk in the UAE’s imports.

As India’s smartphone production has jumped 28 times to Rs5.6 trillion in FY25 from FY15, its share in global smartphone exports has doubled. The country accounted for about 5 percent of the total global smartphone exports in 2023 which rose to 8 percent in 2024. Some media reports suggest that India’s smartphone exports are touching $8 billion in Q1FY26, a 58 percent increase from the same period last year.

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Last Updated :

August 05, 25 12:21:11 PM IST