Chinese smartphone vendors were the only smartphone vendors to mark an increase in sales and market share in the third quarter, but growth could slow in 2017, according to new reports from Gartner and TrendForce.
According to Gartner, Chinese vendors Huawei, Oppo, and BBK Communication Equipment accounted for nearly a quarter of smartphones sold to end users across the globe in the third quarter. That made them the only vendors in the top five – which also included titans Samsung and Apple – to boost both sales and market share during the period.
Gartner data indicates Huawei increased shipments from 27.4 million in the 3Q 2015 to 32.5 million this year, and upped its market share one percentage point to 8.7 percent. Oppo more than doubled its 3Q 2015 shipments of 11.9 million to hit nearly 25 million this year, and similarly nearly doubled its global market share from 3.4 percent to 6.7 percent in the most recent quarter.
For contrast, Samsung and Apple both lost market share, sliding from 23.6 percent to 19.2 percent and 13 percent to 11.5 percent, respectively. Shipments for both well-known vendors also dropped, with Samsung sliding from 83.6 million a year ago to 71.7 million in the third quarter and Apple dipping from 46 million shipments in 2015 to 43 million this year. Gartner said Apple’s sales in particular fell 8.5 percent in the United States and 31 percent in China – two of its major markets.
“China led the growth in the smartphone market in the third quarter of 2016,” Gartner Research Director Anshul Gupta said. “Sales of smartphones in China grew by 12.4 percent, and the vendors who most successfully exploited the sales opportunities there were Oppo and BBK Communication Equipment. In Oppo’s case, 81 percent of its smartphone sales came from China, while BBK accounted for 89 percent of smartphones sales in China. These two vendors also grew strongly in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Russia.”
But a TrendForce report said blockbuster growth for Chinese vendors could slow in 2017.
“Owing to large shipment growths from OPPO and Vivo, about 45 percent of smartphones produced worldwide this year – around 600 million units – belong to Chinese brands,” TrendForce Analyst Avril Wu said. “However, growth in Oppo’s and Vivo’s smartphone production volumes could be reaching a plateau this year. Since both brands focus mainly on their domestic market and lack visibility in foreign markets, they will have difficulty in maintaining strong growth momentum in 2017.”
Next year, TrendForce said the combined smartphone production volume of Chinese brands will hit just 634 million units – or just over 45 percent of the annual global production volume. That means Chinese brands are expected to post flat growth in production next year, the report said.
Broadly speaking, TrendForce said worldwide smartphone production volumes are forecast to grow 4.5 percent in 2017.
Filed Under: Devices
