OPPO Wiped Its German Website Amid EU Exit Rumors, Here's Why
News of OPPO removing products from its website in Germany started trickling out late last week. In fact, there are no OPPO devices listed in Germany on the company's official website. Instead, a banner appears on the page (in automatic translation): "There is currently no product information on our website. Some products are also not available in Germany, including the Reno 8 Series and the Find N2 Flip."
The only FAQ on the website says that existing OPPO users can continue to use their products without restrictions and will receive all future updates.
OPPO had earlier announced that it would suspend operations in Germany due to legal issues and an ongoing patent dispute with Nokia. However, the company insisted that it would not leave the German market for good.
We've reached out to OPPO to confirm that the removal of the products from the site is a temporary step until the company resolves its issues in the German market. Statement we received from an OPPO representative:
In response to a trade dispute initiated by Nokia against OPPO, the sale of some OPPO products in Germany has been temporarily suspended. In addition to discontinuing the sale and marketing of the aforementioned products, OPPO will continue to operate in Germany. As always, users can continue to use OPPO products, access OPPO after-sales service, receive future OS updates and more.
From the above statement, it appears that the suspension of product marketing through the website is part of OPPO's consequences in Germany. When the company lost a patent infringement case against Nokia, it had to stop selling OPPO-branded phones and OnePlus phones in the country. So far, OnePlus doesn't sell any phones through its German website, and the products available are limited to headphones, accessories, and the OnePlus Pad.
While OPPO continues to rule out a possible exit from major European markets, all signs point otherwise. Last week's report also said that OPPO and OnePlus are planning to end their operations in France. The company also shut down its chip development division, which was responsible for custom MariSilicon chips, due to global economic concerns. With all this in mind, the future of OPPO is looking forward to the European region.
