Motorola can't be among top 3 brands without success in India: Motorola Global President Sergio Buniac

Smartphone maker Motorola sees India as a key market to meet its target of being among top three brands in the segment globally in the next three years, a senior official of the company said on Monday.

Motorola Global President Sergio Buniac told PTI that if one can succeed in India then it can be replicated anywhere in the world.

"Our ambition is to be among the top three globally in the next three years. We cannot do that without succeeding in India. We have a long term commitment to the India market. We are very heavy online. We are now expanding offline," Buniac said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of ultra premium foldable smartphones Motorola Razr 40 series.

The company at the event unveiled Motorola Razr 40 Ultra for Rs 89,999 -- the most expensive phone from the company's stable in India, and Motorola Razr 40 for Rs 59,999 apiece.

The company will start pre-booking of the premium smartphones from July 15.

Motorola has roped in bollywood actress Kriti Sanon as its brand ambassador. When asked about the response of Indian customers for premium segment phones, Buniac said Motorola is very satisfied with the result.

"In our case we have doubled volume. Our target for the second half of the year is to double that volume again. We are seeing consumers reacting to new form factors like foldable, new colours. We are seeing good results. It's a beginning but we are very excited," he said.

Before the Motorola Razr 40 series, the company had launched Motorola Edge 30 Ultra for Rs 60,000 apiece in November.

"We have seen good response for Edge 30. We stock out three times," Buniac said.

Motorola Global Head for Customer Experience and Design Prashanth Mani said the company saw strong growth momentum in India and recorded 100 per cent year-over-year growth in the first quarter of the calendar year.

"Over the next three years, we want to be among the top three brands in India. This year we will double our business," Mani said.

He said that as a growth strategy, the company now makes all smartphones for India locally as well as exports 'made in India' phones to US and neighbouring markets.

"We also make it for India because Indian consumers are different. We all know how 5G penetration is growing in India. Last year, we were growing rapidly on the Edge but now we are going to double our investments in the premium category," Mani said.