Lowest Q2 Sales in China Since 2012
Vivo and Oppo led the market with 23% and 21% shares, respectively, while Xiaomi was the fastest-growing brand during the quarter, reveals a study
The smartphone sales in China declined 13% QOQ in Q2 2021, reaching close to 75 million units, said a new report from Counterpoint Research. the quarter’s sales also dropped 6% YOY, showing that the market was even weaker than last year when the country was hit severely by the pandemic, it said. In fact, the Q2 2021 sales were the lowest second-quarter sales in China since 2012, revealed Counterpoint’s Monthly Market Pulse service.
talking about the overall Chinese smartphone market, Mengmeng Zhang, Research analyst at Counterpoint, said, “the overall smartphone demand remains weak as the void left by Huawei cannot be filled immediately by other OEMS. Huawei is a strong brand in China and many of its users still retain their Huawei devices instead of switching to other brands. In addition, China’s smartphone market is quite mature, where demand mainly comes from replacement needs. Fueled by promotions during the 618 e-commerce festival, the market rebounded in June from its dip in april and May.”
In terms of key vendors’ performances, Ethan Qi, senior Research analyst at
Counterpoint, said, “the market has experienced a reshuffle after the us ban on Huawei. One-time market leader Huawei saw its share decline to 10% in Q2 2021 from 32% in Q2 2020. Vivo and Oppo now lead the market with 23% and 21% shares, respectively, followed by Xiaomi and apple. all leading OEMS benefited from Huawei’s decline and grew their market shares. Realme also continued its growth streak in China, surpassing one million unit sales for the first time.”
Xiaomi was the fastest-growing key OEM during the quarter. It grew an impressive 70% YOY, accelerating its offline expansion with more stores in lower-tier cities and counties, the report said. Xiaomi has also made successful strides in penetrating highend segments with the Xiaomi 11 ultra and Xiaomi 11 Pro.
We expect China’s smartphone market to experience further reshuffling in Q3 and become more competitive with the fast recovery of Honor, said Counterpoint. after restoring partnerships with suppliers and securing components, Honor’s sales have started to improve. Its market share stood at 8.4% in June compared to 5.1% in January. It must be noted that Huawei spun off subbrand Honor to survive us supplies ban last year.n
“The overall smartphone demand remains weak as the void left by Huawei cannot be filled immediately by other OEMS. Huawei is a strong brand in China and many of its users still retain their Huawei devices instead of switching to other brands. In addition, China’s smartphone market is quite mature, where demand mainly comes from replacement needs”
– Mengmeng Zhang, Research analyst, Counterpoint