Domestic Market Competition Heats Up, Overseas Market Becomes Key to Growth

China's smartphone market is highly competitive, with brands struggling to differentiate themselves, leading to year-over-year declines for some. Consequently, overseas markets have become crucial for determining brand sales, with Malaysia being a significant player

China's smartphone market is highly competitive, with brands struggling to differentiate themselves, leading to year-over-year declines for some. Consequently, overseas markets have become crucial for determining brand sales, with Malaysia being a significant player.

Malaysia Smartphone Market Share, February 2024

Canalys recently released a report on the Malaysian smartphone market for February 2024, revealing that Xiaomi emerged as the leader with a 19.4% market share, marking a 5.8 percentage point increase year-over-year (YoY). Vivo followed in second place with a 13.4% market share, up 0.2 percentage points YoY. Apple secured the third position with a 12.5% market share, reflecting a 7.4 percentage point YoY growth. Transsion and Samsung ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, with market shares of 11.9% and 11.8%, respectively. Transsion recorded a YoY increase of 6.9 percentage points, while Samsung experienced a significant decline of 15.5 percentage points YoY.

Honor, OPPO, and realme held the sixth, seventh, and eighth positions, with market shares of 10.6%, 8.3%, and 6.7%, respectively. Honor grew by 4.7 percentage points YoY, while OPPO declined by 11.1 percentage points YoY, and realme dropped by 0.8 percentage points YoY.

Market Trend Analysis

Overall, Xiaomi, vivo, Apple, Honor, and Transsion exhibited YoY growth, while Samsung, OPPO, and realme faced YoY declines. Among the top performers, Apple had the highest growth rate of 7.4 percentage points, while Samsung witnessed the steepest decline of 11.8 percentage points. Excluding Apple and Samsung, most Chinese brands experienced growth, with the exception of OPPO and realme, which saw declines, with OPPO's decline being the most pronounced.

Importantly, the Malaysian smartphone market saw a YoY increase of 10%, indicating the success of Chinese brands in capturing market share from Samsung.

Recommendations for Chinese Brands in Overseas Markets

Despite their overall success in Malaysia, some Chinese brands underperformed in the market. Chinese brands operating in overseas markets need to avoid unnecessary competition and instead unite to challenge dominant players Samsung and Apple.