China’s Oppo partners with Vodafone for more significant European push

Huawei is challenging an uphill test in the overseas market as its upcoming devices lack the full set of Google apps and services. That leaves ample room for its Chinese competitors to chase after foreign consumers.

That incorporates Oppo,  the sister brand of Vivo under Dongguan-based electronics holding company BBK. In a statement on Monday, the Chinese firm distributed a partnership with Vodafone to bring its smartphones to the mobile carrier’s European markets. The agreement kicks off in May and will sell Oppo’s portfolio of high-level 5G handsets as well as value-for-money models into the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Turkey.

While Vodafone removed Huawei phones from its U.K. 5G network last year following the U.S. export prohibition that stripped Huawei models of some Android services, the British operator can now tap Oppo’s broad range of mobile products in a heated rush to sign up 5G clients. The allies will jointly explore online sales channels as multiple parts of Europe’s physical premises remain closed due to the COVID-19.

Oppo, at the moment, the second-largest smartphone vendor in its home country after Huawei, has seen a spike in trades across Europe after enrolling to the market in mid-2018. Oppo was one of the first to launch commercially accessible 5G phones in Europe last year and now stands fifth on the continent with a 2% share, according to a survey from research firm Canalys.