Huawei knocks Xiaomi from top spot of smartphone sales in China
Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies Co has seized the top place in smartphone sales in the third quarter in China, outstripping Xiaomi, whose shipments declined from a year earlier for the first time, a Sina news report said on Thursday.
Huawei registered 81 percent year-on-year shipment growth during the past three months, extending its growth momentum in the previous quarter, while Xiaomi's shipments shrank from the same period last year, as the Chinese star firm has been struggling to sustain its high growth, according research firm Canalys, which didn't give out a specific number.
Citing data from another research agency IHS Technology, the Sina news report indicates that Huawei managed to sell a total of 27.4 million devices for the three months ended September 30, compared to the 18.5 million devices sold by Xiaomi during the same period.
Canalys regarded Huawei's stride "a remarkable feat, especially in the context of an increasingly cut-throat and maturing Chinese smartphone market", and also pointed out Xiaomi is "under tremendous pressure to keep growth as an international player as it is slowing down in its key home market".
Xiaomi has sold a total of 53.2 million handsets in the first nine months of IHS data, according to the Sina report -- a far cry from its worldwide target of 80 million smartphone shipments for 2015 set out earlier this year. The company is unlikely to meet the goal unless it is able to sell 26.8 million handsets in the last three months of the year.
On Wednesday, Xiaomi's president Bin Lin revealed the Chinese company is also considering entering the US market to sell its Mi Note and Mi Note Pro smartphones.