Chinese tech giant Xiaomi became the largest smartphone vendor in Southeast Asia for the first time in four years on the back of strong second quarter sales of its budget and premium handsets, bucking a downturn precipitated by US-China trade tensions, according to Canalys.
Xiaomi’s smartphone shipments in the region jumped 8 per cent year on year to 4.7 million units in the second quarter, propelling it to the top spot for the first time since the same period in 2021, the research firm said in a report on Wednesday.
The Chinese handset maker captured 19 per cent of the smartphone market in Southeast Asia, overtaking Chinese rival Transsion and South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics, which respectively accounted for 18 per cent and 17 per cent of the market in the April to June quarter.
Xiaomi’s growth was driven by its efforts to expand its sales channel, which allowed it to scale its sub-brands, Calalys said. The shipments of the budget brand Poco more than doubled, while sales of its premium 15 series grew 54 per cent year on year, which was “a milestone for a brand long perceived as a budget flagship”, research manager Le Xuan Chiew said.
The company also took advantage of the rapid expansion of TikTok Shop, the short video app’s e-commerce platform, according to Canalys, which is part of the research firm Omdia.
