Lava International, an Indian mobile phone manufacturer, has announced its goal to introduce 4G feature phones. The company seeks to capture a third of the country's feature phone market over the next year and grow into a prominent player in the budget phone segment.
Sunil Raina, president and business head at Lava, said in an interview that the company will launch 4G feature phones in an effort to take 35% market share within a year, increasing from its current position of 26% in feature phone sales.
Raina added that Lava wants to “come to a very dominant position” in the segment. The executive also said the company is planning to boost its smartphone sales gradually over the next two years, with goals to expand from its current 1% to 2% market share to 10% in the below-INR30,000 ($360) segment. Lava smartphones will support 5G or above by next year, according to Raina.
In 2009, Lava International was founded with a focus on low-cost smartphones and feature phones with keypads but no high-end capabilities.
