The latest data from the authoritative market research agency Strategy Analytics show that the outbreak of the new crown epidemic has had a serious impact on the global smartphone industry. In February 2020, total shipments were only 62 million units, a decrease of 38% on an annual basis and a decrease of 39% on a monthly basis.
Xiaomi in third place in the world for smartphones sold, surpasses Huawei for the first time
The market in China has therefore been particularly affected. It is estimated that in February only 6 million smartphones were sold on Chinese territory, equal to less than 10% of the world total, a decrease of 26% compared to last year.
In any case, the general classification sees Samsung which sold 18,2 million units in February, down 13% on an annual basis, but which still ensures the brand ranks first. This is probably because the production of Samsung smartphones has gradually moved from China to other regions such as Vietnam, which has therefore mitigated the impact of the epidemic.
Following this we have Apple which maintains the second position with 10,2 million units, with a drop of 27% on an annual basis. Here the virus had a strong impact on the production and shipping of the iPhone, which therefore decreased its availability. The situation is expected to improve by the end of March, but is unlikely to return to normal levels.
Surprisingly, however, even if shipments have decreased by 32% on an annual basis (only 6 million units), Xiaomi has managed to climb to third place in the world. Strategy Anaylytics believes that this is mainly due to the online sales of Xiaomi smartphones, especially in the market outside of China, therefore Italy, Europe, India etc ..
As anticipated in the title, Huawei has slipped under Xiaomi, with a 69% decrease on an annual basis and 5,5 million units sold. In this case, the high number of 4G and non-5G smartphones could have contributed to a decrease in sales.
After Huawei, we have OPPO and Vivo which continue to position themselves in fifth and sixth places, with shipments of 4 million and 3,6 million units respectively.
The total shipments of the top six companies in February were only 47,5 million, a drop of 36% over the previous month and a drop of 52% over October last year. While Lenovo-Motorola, Transsion, LG and Realme they positioned themselves from sixth to tenth place respectively and shipments fell by 23-29% in February.
In conclusion, Xiaomi has managed to overcome Huawei in sales for the first time in history, but perhaps there is not much to rejoice given the current economic situation in China and in the rest of the world. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments section below!
