Although Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo had seen their shipments quickly returned to growth with each of them enjoying more than 20% on-year increase in 2021 as a result of the US government's sanctions against Huawei, amid the intensified competition from Honor's rapid rise, the four leading brands are expected to struggle with a saturating China market and pressure from Apple in the high-end segment going into 2022.
Xiaomi's 2021 shipments soared 35% on year thanks primarily to its multi-brand strategy, which particularly accelerated its expansions in Europe and China. Oppo's 2021 shipments surged 28% from the prior year as its sub-brand Realme flourished in emerging markets and Huawei fading out from the China market boosted demand for its smartphones.
Vivo sustained a more serious impact from the component shortage and disruptions to its product planning so its annual shipment growth came to 20%. Honor quickly rolled out products across all segments within three quarters after the spin-off from Huawei as an independent brand while effectively resolving the chip shortage. Honor is expected to make a comeback to overseas markets in 2022 and deliver outstanding performance going forward.
Chart 1: On-year growth of Xiaomi smartphone shipments worldwide and in China, 2019-2021
Chart 2: On-year growth of Oppo smartphone shipments worldwide and in China, 2019-2021
Chart 3: On-year growth of Vivo smartphone shipments worldwide and in China, 2019-2021
Table 13: Xiaomi product lineup and release schedule, 1Q21-4Q21
Table 14: Oppo product lineup and release schedule, 1Q21-4Q21
Table 15: Vivo product lineup and release schedule, 1Q21-4Q21
Table 16: Honor product lineup and release schedule, 1Q21-4Q21
Table 17: Smartphones with price above CNY4,000 in China, 2021
