Qubo eyes growing demand for dashcams in India, targets 60% growth in FY26

The Hero Group-backed automotive electronics startup Qubo is eyeing the growing demand for dashcams in the Indian market. The Gurugram-headquartered company, which started operations in 2017, estimates the total addressable market size to be in the over-40-million range, thus, emerging as a high-potential category.

The company launched its first dashcam in CY22, and with several product introductions and updates since then, has so far clocked domestic sales of over 400,000 devices, making it a dominant player that currently holds a 50-60% claimed market share for dashcams within the passenger vehicle (PV) space in India.  

“The category did not exist when we entered the market, and it really took off for Qubo. We are building products for India,” Nikhil Rajpal, Founder & CEO, Qubo, told Autocar Professional.

With an R&D centre located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Qubo is focused on building in-house technology, and is paying a keen attention to the software, cloud, and hardware of these electronic devices that are expected to perform reliably whilst being subjected to adverse conditions such as high ambient temperatures, low light, and continuous road shocks. 

“Temperature and light conditions, video clarity, software, and image refinement have been the key areas of focus for our R&D team. We have our own software driving these devices, and that is a big differentiation compared to our competitors’ products. We have our own cloud platform for connecting these devices as well,” Rajpal highlighted. 

‘We have our own software driving these devices, and that is a big differentiation compared to our competitors’ products’ – Nikhil Rajpal, Founder & CEO, Qubo. 

Qubo estimates a huge growth potential in the dashcam category, and according to Rajpal, “While today, there is only 1-2% penetration of dashcams in the Indian PV market, the potential is significant, considering it has already touched nearly 60-70% in markets like China.”

“The way the dashcam market has taken off in India, it could likely hit the 5% penetration mark within the next 2-3 years itself,” he pointed out.

In the last three years, the company has expanded its automotive portfolio to offer an entire gamut of connected car devices, starting from dashcams, to telematics platforms, GPS trackers, tyre inflators, and the recently-launched in-car multimedia infotainment screen. “Our idea is to offer a unified ecosystem of connected accessories that offer a seamless experience on a single platform,” Rajpal added.

Make-in-India approach

While most of the rival offerings in the dashcam domain are largely products that are being imported from China, Qubo is adopting a ‘Make-in-India’ approach for ensuring the right product quality, cost, and durability for the Indian market. The company has an outsourced manufacturing setup in Noida, where it locally assembles and produces these electronic products in the country.

“We have been growing 100% every year, and are targeting a 60% growth this year (FY26). We are witnessing a rapid change in the proportion of entry-level to high-end devices,” Rajpal said. 

Qubo’s Dashcam Pro 3K (pictured above) features a Sony Starvis 2 IMX675 image sensor with enhanced low-light performance, reduced glare, and superior contrast.

Qubo acknowledges an undergoing consumer shift towards more premium offerings, such as the Dashcam Pro 3K, Dashcam Pro 4K, and Dashcam Pro 4K front and rear cameras. “We are seeing a migration towards premiumisation as well as overall growth of the market. People are understanding the value of better image quality, more features, and built-in ADAS features,” he added.

While last year, over 80% of Qubo’s volumes came from entry-level dashcams, now it has declined to almost 50%, with an equal proportion of buyers realising the value of investing in a top-of-the-line device with in-built safety features such as monitoring even while the vehicle is parked. 

Durable hardware, high-quality software

Qubo’s Dashcam Pro 4K features 4K ultra-high-definition recording by virtue of its Sony IMX415 sensor that offers superior image capturing quality, particularly in low-light conditions. The sensor’s 140-degree field-of-view further ensures that a wide area in front of the vehicle is monitored continuously to gather more evidence in the high-definition footage that is stored on an on-board SD card. 

While a built-in variable-sensitivity GPS sensor triggers automatic recording of events such as strong vibrations or sudden jolts, likely experienced during the event of an impact, the 2.8-inch IPS display allows for live viewing of the footage being recorded. The screen also shows real-time vehicle speed, timestamps, and GPS coordinates. 

In our tests, pairing the device with Qubo’s mobile phone application was a seamless experience, with the platform acting as a one-stop destination for all journey logs, as well as for retrieving the footage from the device. The app shows the dashcam footage in an organised gallery that also securely keeps event recordings in a separate folder that cannot be overwritten. One can also rewind to a particular timestamp, take screenshots, or short clips, to show as evidence in case of an untoward incident involving the vehicle. 

Qubo’s mobile application offers a seamless pairing experience with the dashcam device and allows users to retrieve previously-recorded footage, view event logs and take screenshots, or create clips pertaining to relevant timestamps.

Qubo also offers a hardwire kit to install the dashcam by directly tapping into the vehicle’s fuse box, thereby making it tamper proof while also enabling a clean and seamless look inside the cabin. As per the company, the camera is designed to endure extreme temperatures, ranging from minus 20-degree Celsius to 85-degree Celsius, by deploying a supercapacitor instead of lithium-ion cells, and thereby, making it durable across the vast Indian geography.

The company says it is witnessing robust demand for its products coming from over 150 cities in the country, with both offline and online channels showing a parity in sales. “We have built distribution in around 40 cities, and will double it in the near future. While it is still a long way to go, we have already reached 3,000 out of the estimated 10,000 car accessory retail shops across India,” Rajpal highlighted.

Evaluating export opportunities

Although its plans to partner OEMs to become an OES vendor through the authorised dealership network of prominent carmakers in the country are inching ahead slowly, Qubo is also critically exploring export opportunities to potential overseas markets, such as the Middle East, and the US.

The company is confident that its top-notch software as well as mobile application give it a distinct advantage over most Chinese offerings that are also prevalent in these global markets. “We will evaluate some international opportunities in CY25,” revealed Rajpal.

Since its inception eight years ago, Qubo has seen a total investment of Rs 300 crore in the business, which today spans across automotive, home, as well as consumer electronics like wireless chargers and gimbals. The company has earmarked another round of investment to the tune of Rs 70-100 crore over the next 18 months. 

The company clocked revenue of Rs 275 crore in FY25, and is targeting to hit profitability in FY26. To expand its revenue streams, Qubo is continuously evaluating diversification into categories such as bike dashcam, and smart helmets, among other innovative consumer products.

“We are playing with a lot of ideas, and if one can build something unique, and launch it at the right price point, there is immense potential,” Rajpal signed off on an optimistic note.

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