New Delhi: Smartphone maker Xiaomi might become the third largest smartphone company in the world by the end of 2021, a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics has said.
The vendor, who leads India’s smartphone market, will surpass Chinese competitor Huawei this year, the report said. The telecom giant is currently the third largest smartphone maker in the world, but recent US sanctions have made the future of its business uncertain.
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“For 2021, we believe Xiaomi will emerge as the third largest global smartphone vendor surpassing Huawei. Xiaomi has been performing well in the India and Russia markets, and has also been very aggressive in Central & Eastern Europe and Western Europe,” said Abhilash Kumar, smartphone analyst at Strategy Analytics. Linda Sui, Senior Director at Strategy Analytics, said 2021 will be the “year of Chinese smartphone vendors”, which includes companies like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.
The three vendors are expected to become the top three players in the Asia Pacific region, “driven by aggressive marketing, expanding channel footprints, and competitive pricing.”
Further, Transsion Holdings, which runs brands like Itel, Tecno and more, is expected to surpass South Korean electronics giant, Samsung, in the Africa and Middle East regions. The global smartphone market will rebound in 2021, growing by 6.5% to reach 1.38 billion units. The growth is expected to be driven by the proliferation of 5G smartphones and improvement in the global economic situation after the pandemic.
Chinese smartphone vendor Xiaomi currently leads India’s smartphone market, which registered a record 100 million shipments in the second half of 2020, said a February report by Cybermedia Research (CMR). The report said Xiaomi owns 27% of the market share in India, followed by Samsung at 20%. Vivo, Realme and Oppo took the next three spots, with 14%, 11% and 10% market share, respectively.
