China★ Aim for "Unshakable Global Market Share #3"

Chinese smartphone manufacturers are riding the wave of the dawn of the 4G era, aiming for the "unshakable third place in global market share" behind South Korea's Samsung Electronics and the U.S.'s Apple. Each company targets sales expansion with three key strategies: low prices, overseas distribution channels, and 4G compatibility. This is reported by NNA, which distributes economic information from Asia.

 

According to shipment figures for Q3 2013 compiled by U.S. IT market research firm IDC, the combined market share of the two giants, Samsung Electronics and Apple, stands at 44.5%, overwhelmingly dominating the field. The competition for third place and below is extremely close, with multiple players vying for position. Chinese companies are simultaneously pushing forward with expanding their low-end models, enhancing their 4G-compatible devices, and developing overseas markets to increase their share.
Currently holding third place is Huawei, a major telecommunications equipment and device manufacturer, which recorded shipments of 52 million units in 2013 (a 63% year-on-year increase). It aims to sell 80 million units this year, a 54% increase over last year. Fourth place is held by Lenovo, the world's largest PC maker, which sold 50 million units in 2013 and expects to sell 70 million units this year.
Coolpad ranks sixth. It has set a sales target of 60 million units for 2014, with 40 million of those planned to be 4G-compatible models.
ZTE has been developing 4G terminals and equipment early on, demonstrating its presence with an approximately 20% global share of LTE-compatible smartphones. With the full-scale rollout of 4G starting this year, it has set a goal of achieving the third-largest global share this year.

The emerging mobile phone brand Xiaomi has thrown a stone into the pond of this major player-dominated market. Its 2013 sales reached 18.7 million units, and it expects to hit 40 million units this year. It is expected to launch a "$50 smartphone" within the year, priced at about one-tenth of the average smartphone cost, positioning it as a key tool for expanding its overseas sales channels. As price wars among smartphone makers intensify, these ultra-low-cost devices could become the eye of the storm, potentially reshaping the smartphone landscape.