Oppo confirms its business is on hold in Germany after reports of exit from EU

Last month a report claimed that both Oppo and OnePlus were soon planning to leave the European Union. Shortly after the report came out, both the companies put out a statement saying that they remained committed to all the markets in the European Union where they were operating in. Now, Oppo has confirmed that while it is not leaving European Union, it is putting its business ‘on hold’ in Germany.

“OPPO is not leaving the German market, but the business has been put on hold due to the current injunction in the German market. OPPO is still negotiating with Nokia proactively and we believe the matter will be resolved eventually,” Oppo said in a statement to Andreas Floemer, who is a writer for German tech publication T3N.

Oppo statement on the situation in Germany:
„OPPO is not leaving the German market, but the business has been put on hold due to the current injunction in the German market. OPPO is still negotiating with Nokia proactively and we believe the matter will be resolved eventually.“

— Andreas Floemer 😷💉💉💉💉 (@AndreasFloemer) April 3, 2023

Oppo, OnePlus Europe exit rumours

It all began when a Chinese publication called 36Krypton reported that Oppo and OnePlus were exiting some select European markets including the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands. This report was later picked up by tipsters including Max Jambor and several international publications.

As the report snowballed, both OnePlus and Oppo issued a statement denying the report. Here’s what OnePlus said, as reported by GSMArena:

“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 to its users.”

Here’s what Oppo said:

“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.”

At the time, Oppo’s statement had raised eyeballs regarding the company’s future plans in the European Union. But now, Oppo’s latest statement had put all those rumours to rest. However, that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual for Oppo.

Oppo vs Nokia

That said, the entire matter isn’t exactly new. Last year, the German courts ruled that BBK-owned companies including Oppo and OnePlus were illegally using Nokia’s patented technology in their smartphones. The court also ordered a sales ban of smartphones by the two companies in German. Later, the Finnish giant offered to settle the matter on the condition that the BBK-owned companies would renegotiate and renew their license for using its technology in their smartphones on fair terms. As per a report by Android Police, Nokia had demanded that Oppo and OnePlus pay a licensing fee of 2.50 Euros per smartphone sold.

However, the German law requires that Oppo and OnePlus will have to enter into a worldwide agreement with Nokia and pay the licensing fee for all the phones sold globally. And so, in order to sell its phones in Germany, Oppo and OnePlus will either have to take a hit on their bottom line or pass down the cost to the customers, which would increase the cost of its smartphones globally.

Oppo so far has failed to renegotiate a contract with Nokia and so it has put its business on hold in the country. Under the circumstances, it remains to be seen how the two companies resolve this matter.