Despite the US crackdown, Chinese devices are doing really well in Europe, according to Canalys beancounters.
According to Canalys, preventing the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi from operating in the States means they are investing in Europe to make up for their lost US business and have experienced significant sales gains.
Although Samsung still ranks number one in the continent and Apple remains a number two, Huawei’s market share now stands at 23.6 percent, compared to a market share of 14.8 percent last year. Xiaomi’s grew from 3.6 to six percent, the fourth position.
These gains mean the two market leaders’ market shares have fallen slightly – Samsung’s by a percent and Apple by five percent.
Apple’s suppliers are suffering, particularly UK-based chip firm Dialog Semiconductor, which reported lower than expected end of year revenues in January.
Canalys analyst Ben Stanton said the political situation between Chinese companies and the US government had benefited European consumers.
“The US administration is causing Chinese companies to invest in Europe over the US. The European market is mature, and replacement rates have lengthened, but there is an opportunity for Chinese brands to displace the market incumbents.
“As a result Huawei and Xiaomi bring price competition that has stunned their rivals as they use their size against the smaller brands in Europe.”
Shipments overall in Europe fell to their lowest levels since 2018 because the cost of market-leading smartphones such as Apple and Samsung’s flagship products were not as attractive to consumers. However, these price increases also mean that revenues did not experience such a decrease, putting a more positive spin on the results.
“There are interesting country-level differences in Western Europe. The markets with the highest ASPs, such as the UK, Germany and the Nordics, have suffered the sharpest declines”, Stanton said.
“There hasn’t been innovation in the flagship smartphone space to entice customers to upgrade. But in countries with lower ASPs, such as Italy and Spain, there was growth in 2018. This reflects a transformation in the mid-range segment in 2018, with notch displays and dual cameras coming down to aggressive price points.”
Canalys explained it thinks Chinese vendors will continue to gain market share this year.
