Huawei Mobile Phone Shipments Surge To Second Worldwide

On December 20, Huawei’s Consumer Business CEO Yu Chengdong revealed at an internal conference that Huawei’s total mobile phone shipments are to reach 230 million, surpassing Apple as the second most globally, just behind Samsung.

Huawei’s mobile phone shipments in 2018 totalled 206 million, so the projected 2019 total of 230 million represents a 12% annual growth rate. 2019 iPhone shipments have not been officially announced, but Bank of America forecasts that in 2020 they will only amount to 202 million, implying that the 2019 total will be be even lower. Crucially, Apple has not yet released a 5G version of the iPhone in China or any other market.

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Huawei has recently increased its market share and influence in the premium smartphone sector. Global shipments of the Mate 30 series have exceeded 7 million units, an increase of 75% year on year. Meanwhile, since its launch, the P30 series has exceeded 17.5 million units, creeping towards Huawei’s goal of 20 million units.

Huawei’s ambition of becoming the global leader in smartphone shipments has been hampered by US-imposed sanctions which negatively impacted their overseas sales. However, the company has been buoyed by a strong performance domestically.

Data form market research firm Canalys showed that the third quarter was the best-performing quarter in the history of the European mobile phone market. For example, Samsung’s shipments grew by 26% during the period, while Huawei’s shipments in Europe fell by 17%. This decline was offset by Huawei’s performance in China. In the third quarter of this year, Huawei’s share of the domestic smartphone market reached 42%, representing an annual growth rate of 66%. This marked the sixth consecutive quarter that Huawei experienced double-digit growth in China.