China's September 2023 Domestic Handset Shipments Up 59% YoY, 75% MoM
CAICT, 11/22/23
A total of 33.28 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China in September 2023, up 59.1% YoY and 75.3% 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 September, 28.72 mln, or 86.3%, were 5G handsets, 4.45 mln, or 13.4%, were 4G handsets, and the remaining 0.11 mln, or 0.3%, were 3G and 2G handsets. Note that CAICT breaks out shipment figures only for 5G and 4G models, to the nearest 1,000 units and 10,000 units, respectively; accordingly, the 3G/2G figures we have provided here are calculated using CAICT's total, 5G, and 4G figures, and may include a rounding error of up to 10,000 units.
In the 9-month period from Jan-Sep 2023, a total of 200.47 mln mobile handsets were shipped in China, up 2.2% YoY. Of this total, 161.71 mln, or 80.7%, were 5G handsets, 37.88 mln, or 18.9%, were 4G handsets, and the remaining 0.88 mln, or 0.4%, were 3G and 2G handsets.
A total of 24.95 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China in September, up 36.1% YoY and 48.1% MoM, accounting for 75.0% of total handset shipments. Shipments of smartphones comprised 31.93 mln units, up 60.9% YoY and 78.1% MoM, and accounting for 96.0% of total handsets shipped in China in September.
In the 9-month period from Jan-Sep 2023, 163.13 mln handsets from domestic handset brands were shipped in China, down 3.9% YoY, accounting for 81.4% of total handset shipments. During the same 9-month period, shipments of smartphones comprised 191.56 mln, or 95.6%, of total handsets shipped in China.
During the month of September, 42 new handset models were released in China, up 23.5% YoY, but down 23.6% MoM. Of the total new handset models released during the month, 20, or 47.6%, were 5G models, 22, or 52.4%, were 4G models, and none were 3G or 2G models; 41, or 97.6%, of the new handset models were from domestic brands, and 32, or 76.2%, were smartphone models.
In the 9-month period from Jan-Sep 2023, 335 new handset models were released in China, up 9.8% YoY; of this total, 153, or 45.7%, were 5G models, 178, or 53.1%, were 4G models, and 4, or 1.2%, were 3G or 2G models. Of the total new handset models released from Jan-Sep 2023, 307, or 91.6%, were from domestic brands, and 279, or 83.3%, were smartphone models.
Editor's Note: 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 4G MIIT 3G 5G CAICT handset model shipment volume national statistics domestic vendor