China's May 2021 Domestic Handset Shipments Down 32% YoY, 16% MoM
CAICT, 6/16/21
A total of 22.97 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China in May 2021, down 32.0% YoY and 16.4% MoM, according to new figures released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a department of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Of total shipments in May, 16.74 mln, or 72.9%, were 5G handsets. CAICT did not break out figures for shipments of 4G, 3G, and 2G handsets.
In the 5-month period from Jan-May 2021, a total of 148.43 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China, up 19.3% YoY. Of this total, 108.01 mln, or 72.8%, were 5G handsets. CAICT did not break out year-to-date figures for shipments of 4G, 3G, or 2G handsets.
A total of 19.25 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China in May, down 37.8% YoY and 22.2% MoM, accounting for 83.8% of total handset shipments. Shipments of smartphones comprised 22.60 mln, down 30.8% YoY and 16.2% MoM, and accounting for 98.4% of total handsets shipped in China in May.
In the 5-month period from Jan-May 2021, 130.68 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China, up 16.7% YoY, accounting for 88.0% of total handset shipments. During the same 5-month period, shipments of smartphones comprised 145.76 mln, or 98.2%, of total handsets shipped in China.
During the month of May, 27 new handset models were released in China, of which 10, or 37.0%, were 5G models. CAICT did not break out figures for total 4G, 3G, or 2G handset models released in May. Of the total new handset models released during the month, 25, or 92.6%, were from domestic brands, and 21, or 77.8%, were smartphone models.
In the 5-month period from Jan-May 2021, 181 new handset models were released in China, up 9.0% YoY; of this total, 90, or 49.7%, were 5G models. CAICT did not break out YTD figures for total 4G, 3G, or 2G handset models released. Of the total new handset models released from Jan-May 2021, 166, or 91.7%, were from domestic brands, and 145, or 80.1%, were smartphone models.
CAICT attributed the substantial year-on-year declines in handset shipments in April and May mainly to three factors: first, handset shipments in China's domestic market in Q1 2021 increased by more than 100% YoY, essentially exhausting some of the demand that would normally arise in subsequent months; second, upstream supply of handset chips remains tight; and third, while Chinese handset vendor Huawei's shipments have dropped sharply, other vendors have failed to fully make up for Huawei's decline.
Editor's Note: CAICT's statistics above related to total handset models released YTD reflect a revision of its handset model release figures for the month of January 2021. CAICT's statistics cover domestically produced, domestically shipped handsets from both Chinese and foreign brands, but do not include imported handsets or exports of domestically produced units. Only handsets shipped through official channels are included, meaning grey market or knock-off handsets are not covered in CAICT's figures. "Shipped" means only that the manufacturer shipped the handset to a wholesaler or retailer, where it may or may not have been sold to a consumer during the month under discussion.
Keywords: handset smartphone wireless Huawei MIIT 5G handset model CAICT shipment volume national statistics domestic vendor
Sending
