Market Research Firm GfK Denied Huawei As The Top In Sales Volume

“The viral story titled Global Smartphone Sales in January by GfK quoted unofficial data and published fake numbers without authorization, which infringes our trademark and left a negative impact on us and our partners,” the market research company GfK China announced on March 27.

Chinese smartphone company Huawei‘s deputy chairman Guo Ping and CEO of the consumer BG Richard Yu shared a picture allegedly from GfK on their social media, saying that Huawei’s global sales volume (China excluded) in January reached 11.13 million units, taking up 18.8 percent of the global smartphone market with a 21 percent year-on-year growth. Those numbers throned Huawei as the top one among global manufacturers.

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However, GfK analyst Jing Hui dismissed the data. According to GfK, the sales volume in Chinese smartphone market is 30.57 million units, and the Chinese market accounts for about 23 percent of the global one. That means the global market is 132.91 million units. If Huawei accounts for 18.8 percent, as the story goes, its sales should be about 25 million units.

“I guess everyone can do that math, as it’s taught in elementary schools,” Jing said.

Huawei hasn’t responded, regarding why its senior executives spread such fake news.

As Chinese smartphone manufacturers are flexing their muscles on the global stage, especially the European one, it’s time for them to rethink their strategies. Unlike the Indian market, which values sales volume and cost performance, the European market cares more about reliability and quality.

Featured photo credit to Bloomberg