Huawei Q3 shipments soar, expects to shift 100 million mobes abroad this year

Not just number 1 in China any more

Huawei saw year-on-year smartphone shipments spike 63 per cent in its third quarter.

The Chinese tech company said it was "proud" of the growth in smartphone sales that it had witnessed outside of the People's Republic.

“At this rate, we are confident in our ability to reach our smartphone shipment target of 100 million units by year’s end," said Huawei consumer biz boss Richard Yu.

Last week, analyst house Canalys reckoned that Huawei had become the top smartphone vendor in China during the third quarter of this year – unseating rival Xiaomi.

It was a "remarkable feat," according to Canalys analyst Jessie Ding, who described the Chinese smartphone market as "increasingly cut-throat and maturing".

But while Huawei may be celebrating its rocketing growth in the smartphone game, the US market remains a huge challenge to the company, which is best known as a networks kit vendor.

The privately held, employee-owned telecoms giant derives most of its sales from its European and Asian operations. Huawei has been largely frozen out of the US market, after the White House cited national security concerns.

Back in the Middle Kingdom, Huawei said it held a smartphone market share of 15.2 per cent as of last month.

The company added that it had shipped 27.4 million units during its third quarter ended 30 September. ®