Huawei pulls ahead in booming Chinese smartphone market
Huawei now has a dominant 18% of the Chinese smartphone market – ahead of rivals Vivo and Oppo, according to Canalys. “China’s smartphone market continues to grow, with shipments increasing by over 9% year on year this quarter,” said Canalys research analyst Lucio Chen, who added: “There is a clear indication the market is consolidating. The top three vendors are pulling away, accounting for more than 50% of shipments for the first time this quarter." Xiaomi has dropped to fifth place behind Apple, after being the third biggest seller a year ago. Canalys estimated 114 million smartphones shipped in China in the last quarter. 

According to new data from Canalys, Huawei has overtaken rival Oppo and Vivo to carve up a dominant 18% slice of the Chinese smartphone market.

“China’s smartphone market continues to grow, with shipments increasing by over 9% year on year this quarter,” said Canalys Research Analyst Lucio Chen.

Chen adds that “there is a clear indication that the market is consolidating. The top three vendors are pulling away at the head of the market, accounting for more than 50% of shipments for the first time this quarter. In the corresponding quarter a year ago, Huawei led with Vivo second and Oppo fourth, together accounting for 42% of the market. Xiaomi took third place but has since fallen to fifth behind Apple, shipping just over 9 million units in Q1 2017.”

Canalys estimates 114 million smartphones shipped in China within the last quarter. Many major smartphone vendors like Samsung and Apple are hoping it proves to be the next major drive for growth in the category while, simultaneously, local players within the Chinese market are hoping to use it as a springboard for their own global expansion.

According to IDC, Huawei shipped a total of 125.9 million units last year globally.

Chinese smartphone player Huawei has released its 2016 financial report, revealing the company shipped 130 million smartphones globally over the course of the year.

In its most recent earnings report, the company posted a net profit of approximately $5.38 billion in US dollars, a growth of 0.38% on the previous year and an increase in revenues of 32% year on year.

Eric Xu, Huawei Rotating CEO, said that “In 2016, Huawei maintained its strategic focus and achieved solid growth. As humanity continues to explore and make new breakthroughs in the digital world, digitization and increasing intelligence present huge business opportunities for all industries, and are also paving the road for new growth for the ICT industry.”