Chinese handset makers, having won over users at home and in emerging markets, are making a push into Europe with Xiaomi — once the world’s most valuable unicorn — preparing to ship “hundreds of thousands” of phones to Spain.
Xiaomi, like peers Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, is banking on its sophisticated handsets and cheaper price tags to win share from global giants Apple and Samsung. By some measures, Chinese smartphone makers are catching up fast: Counterpoint consultancy puts Huawei’s global market share in the third quarter at 9.8 per cent to 11.7 per cent for Apple — although that is the quarter when Apple buyers may have held off ahead of the new iPhone launch.
Speaking ahead of a trip to Madrid, Wang Xiang, who will head up Xiaomi’s global expansion, said the move into western Europe was a milestone. “Spain is our first stop in the developed market,” he said.