Chinese smartphone makers, such as Huawei and Xiaomi, continue to grow in Europe at the expense of large companies such as Samsung and Apple. According to the latest market survey carried out by the analyst firm Canalys, in 2018 one in three smartphones sold in Europe was from a Chinese brand. According to estimates, Huawei alone would have achieved a market share of 23 percent in the last months of 2018, with an overall annual growth of around 55 percent.
Xiaomi, another Chinese manufacturer, recorded an annual growth of 62 percent, even if its market share continues to be contained and around 6 percent. Both Huawei and Xiaomi sell quality smartphones, but at cheaper prices than many models sold by Samsung and Apple's iPhones.
Samsung continues to hold the top spot with 28.7 percent market share, but has lost about 1 percent from 2017. Apple has 26 percent, down 5.1 percent from 2017. last year. Both companies are struggling with a general slowdown in the smartphone market, and with the increased trend of consumers to buy Chinese products.
Huawei has been at the center of criticism and legal proceedings in the United States for months, where it is accused of spying on behalf of the Chinese government with its systems, from smartphones to the equipment it produces for the management of mobile networks. The company has consistently denied the allegations, noting that so far the US government has not produced convincing evidence to support them. The situation has heavily penalized Huawei's growth in the United States, but according to Canalys analysts it has instead led to some advantages for Europe.
Unable to do business in the US, Huawei and other Chinese companies have started investing much more money and resources in the European market. Investments are leading to the construction of new research centers and factories, but also to the launch of more advantageous commercial offers for customers, with the aim of expanding market shares as much as possible. Above all, Xiaomi follows a very low price policy that entails lower margins than other competitors, but sufficient to support its activities.
The smartphone market in Europe is now mature and has shown a significant slowdown: you tend to keep your mobile phone longer before changing it, going beyond the classic two-year cycle. Things are better in Eastern Europe where the market is not yet saturated and there are proportionately more sustained sales volumes. However, Apple and Samsung are struggling to maintain their positions in those markets, where Chinese alternatives at a lower cost are seen as an opportunity, rather than a fallback. Furthermore, the differences between the most valuable smartphones of Huawei and Xiaomi are not many compared to the iPhones or Galaxy, while the prices of the Chinese models are significantly lower.
Also according to data from Canalys, in 2018 Samsung sold 10 percent fewer smartphones in Europe than in 2017. Apple sold 42.8 million iPhones overall, below expectations, while Huawei went on to sell 42. , 5 million own smartphones. At this rate, in the first half of 2019 Huawei could easily overtake Apple, becoming the second largest smartphone maker in Europe behind Samsung. The latter should be able to maintain the first position also thanks to its new Galaxy S10, highly anticipated and which will be presented next week. Apple may continue to have some difficulties, given the sales trend of its latest iPhones and the fact that it will not introduce a new line of smartphones before the end of the summer.
