OnePlus and Oppo today denied they are leaving the UK and European market.
Leaker and All About Samsung writer Max Jambor tweeted Monday claiming that both smartphone makers would be “pulling out of Europe,” but the companies say otherwise.
“OnePlus will not exit from Europe and the UK and maintains stable operations in local markets. OnePlus will continue to invest in Europe and provide more innovative product and solutions for its users,” OnePlus global PR Manager James Paterson told Tech Advisor in an email statement.
“Oppo is committed to all the existing European markets,” an Oppo spokesperson said via email.
“We had a great start in 2023 with the successful launches of several products in Europe and have a line-up of upcoming products for the rest of the year. As always, Oppo will continue to provide more innovative products and the best-in-class service for users moving forward.”
Jambor had earlier cited Germany, the UK, France, and Netherlands as the countries OnePlus and Oppo would be “first to leave”.
In a subsequent tweet Jambor claimed that “right now only the countries listed will close down. Not Europe entirely.”
Both Oppo and OnePlus are brands owned by Chinese firm BBK Group, which also owns other smartphone brands including Realme and Vivo. Exiting European markets would represent a big shift in sales strategy for the brands, with OnePlus successfully entering the UK and European market in 2014 with its first phone, the OnePlus One.
Both brands also sell wireless earbuds and smartwatches to European consumers while Oppo recently launched its Pad Air tablet.
The OnePlus 11 launched earlier in 2023 and is for sale across Europe, while OnePlus is currently teasing the April launch of the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite. The brand is also established in the US market.
Oppo does not sell directly to US consumers but some of the best Oppo phones of recent years have been released in the UK and Europe including the Oppo Find N2 Flip, a flip-style rival to Samsung’s Z Flip 4.
Author: Henry Burrell, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Previously Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, Henry covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.