
MUMBAI: Chinese consumer electronics player TCL is bullish on India and is expecting to nearly double its market share in the high-end television market here to around 10 percent of the over 5 million units market.
The domestic smart TV market was valued at UCL 11.5 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 16.6 per cent from 2024 to 2030, reaching nearly USD 33.72 billion by 2030.
In 2022 it was valued at nearly USD 10 billion clipping at 8 per cent over the previous year. In 2023, in volume terms the domestic market was around 4.5 million.
“We’ve close to 6 percent market share in the TV space and we are sure to close this year with around 10 percent of the market pie,” Philip Xia, the head of TCL India, told TNIE here after launching a high-end model priced at Rs 30 lakh apiece which it has claimed is the world’s largest LED screen with 8.5 feet width and 4.9 feet height or 115 inches.
Xia claims his company is among the top six players which is led by the Korean majors Samsung (16 per cent market share in 2024 first quarter) and LG Electronics with 15 per cent of the pie), and the Japanese brands like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and the Chinese Xiaomi and Haer. There is no notable domestic name in this space.
Xia said the parent has cumulatively invested over USD 3 billion in their two Tirupati (Sri City) plants which manufacture all its TV units. Refusing the share revenue or profit, he said the company is profitable.
When asked why they remain only TV players and not bring their other consumer electronics items, Xia said they have already test-launched washing machines, air-conditioners and home theatres, which are not currently manufactured by them outsourced from other players like the German major IFB.
“We are not averse to manufacture these items. We are testing the markets and in due course we will have them manufactured at our own plants,” Xia added.
On the pricing, Lakshmana Kumar, director of marketing said, there is no dearth of consumers for such high-priced products. Even before the launch we have booking and if we get to sell 25-30 units a year, we are perfectly fine. That during Diwali, our 98 inch model priced close to Rs 6 lakh ran out of stock clearly shows the depth of the market.
Xia said the company can roll out 25-430 units a month of the newly launched model from the Sri City plant. Capacity is not a problem.
Kumar said after the initial months, they will only be making the QD mini LED TV to order. The model was first showcased at the last CES in Las Vegas, and India is the first commercial market.