Finds firm ground under Lenovo.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: Motorola will once again enter the Chinese market under the stewardship of Lenovo after it faced a major collapse in China during 2011-2012.
Motorola, which has been through frequent buying and selling over the last few years, has now found firm ground after its acquisition by Lenovo in October 2014. According to William Moss, official spokesperson of Motorola, the company is planning to roll out Moto X Pro and Moto G, which are by far the best smartphones the company has recently launched, in the Chinese market.
He also added that Moto X will be up for sale in China starting from February, followed by Moto G sometime later that month or in March.
Lenovo bought major shares of Motorola Mobility from Google for a whopping $2.91 billion in October last year. Since then, the company has shown steady growth with shares rising exuberantly during this period.
Lenovo, the Chinese personal computer manufacturer has been concentrating more on smartphones, after sensing a shift in people’s preference towards smartphones rather than buying bulky personal computers.
Lenovo was the top smartphone manufacturer in China till the third quarter of 2014, but later in the year Xiaomi surpassed it to become the number one.
Jessica Kwee, a Singapore-based analyst with researcher Canalys was quoted by The Verge saying that “Motorola’s brand is well-liked and respected in many markets, especially being a U.S. brand and the long legacy in mobile. It is something that Lenovo can leverage.”
William Moss added that, “It’s been about two years since we actively launched products in China. Lenovo has been clear for some time that bringing Motorola back to China was going to be a priority. It’s something we’ve been working very hard on since the close of the acquisition.”