Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is continuing to post solid growth. After overtaking Apple as the number two smartphone vendor in the world in the Q2 of 2021, it’s now become the top seller in Europe for the first time, according to new figures from Strategy Analytics.
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, Xiaomi topped all vendors with a 25% market share as European smartphone shipments posted strong growth +14% YoY to 50 million units. The smartphone market rebound was driven by the continued economic recovery, healthy demand from consumers with aging devices and appealing value-priced 5G devices.
Xiaomi overtook Samsung to take the top spot in Europe, with 12.7 million phones shipped in Q2, up 67.1 percent year-on-year. Samsung’s shipments fell 7 percent in that same period to 12 million units, though the Korean company remains the world’s biggest phone vendor. Overall smartphone shipments in Europe increased in 2021 thanks to post-COVID recovery, said Strategy Analytics’ researchers, with Apple, also showing decent growth. The iPhone maker was up 15.7 percent compared to 2021 thanks to strong interest in the iPhone 12.
Xiaomi’s focus on value, though, seems to have helped broaden its appeal in Europe. “Xiaomi has seen great success in Russia, Ukraine, Spain and Italy among others and found customers eager for its Mi and Redmi series of feature-rich, value smartphones,” said Boris Metodiev, associate director at Strategy Analytics, in a press statement.
Xiaomi’s growth has also been assisted by the demise of Huawei, which continues to vacate the European market after its phones lost access to Android and Google services in 2019.
Oppo captured 6 percent market share, riding high on the success of its A and Reno series phones. Realme rounded off the top five with a breakthrough quarter as the new Realme 8 series phones found favour. The company shipped an estimated 1.9 million units in the region.
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