Samsung remains the number 1 smartphone in Europe ahead of Apple and Huawei. The latter continues to retreat on the old continent, suffocated by American sanctions. Its misfortunes are the business of Xiaomi and Oppo, which saw their market share increase sharply in 2020.
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For the first time in its history, Huawei has managed to climb onto the roof of the global smartphone market in the second quarter of 2020, confirming its breakthrough that began in April. US sanctions are far from having buried the manufacturer, which is taking advantage of a national leap in China to compensate for its decline on other continents. The Counterpoint firm looked into the European case. The picture is much less bright for the Chinese giant.
Samsung remains number 1 in Europe but loses market share
Unsurprisingly, the Korean retains its leadership position in Europe, well ahead of Apple and Huawei on the old continent. But Samsung saw its market share drop by one point compared to the same period last year. From 36% in the second quarter of 2019, it rose to 35% in 2020. These figures confirm the poor sales Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra while waiting for the arrival the Galaxy Note 20 which will be formalized next Wednesday.
The Huawei’s difficulties largely benefit Apple, but also to other Chinese manufacturers. The Cupertino company went from 15% last year to 17% in the second quarter of 2020, gaining two points in Europe. Apple owes this breakthrough to iPhone SE 2020 which boosts iPhone sales since its launch last April. Huawei for its part went from 22% in Q2 2019 to 16% in 2020. The other two manufacturers in the top 5 are none other than Xiaomi, which went from 6% to 13% and Oppo which saw its market share increase from 1% to 3% in Europe.
In France, the situation is broadly the same. Samsung continues to dominate Apple and Huawei, but the gap on the Cupertino company is smaller. The three manufacturers had respective market shares of 34%, 26% and 15% in France in the second quarter of 2020.
The impact of the coronavirus on sales
The other lesson of the Counterpoint report is the general decline in sales in the smartphone market. Already struggling in recent years, the crisis has worsened with the Covid-19 pandemic. Sales plunged 24% compared to the second quarter of last year and 22% compared to the first quarter of 2020.
With the gradual lifting of the lockdown, sales rebounded 33% in May. June was equally good, posting a further increase of 34%. Despite this, the market failed to cover April’s large drop and is down 24% overall for the three months of the second quarter compared to last year.
