Inside China Tech: Reversal of fortunes for HiSilicon, NIO and travel apps
- Smartphone processor shipments in China fell 44.5 per cent in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same period last year
- Raising funds has become more critical for NIO amid increased competition from US electric car giant Tesla
Shake up in phone chips
HiSilicon, Huawei Technologies’ in-house chip design unit, has overtaken Qualcomm in terms of smartphone processor shipments in China, according to reporter Yujie Xue.
In the first quarter, HiSilicon shipped 22.21 million smartphone processors, according to Chinese research firm CINNO. Although HiSilicon’s shipments only increased slightly from the 22.17 million units in the first quarter of last year, it was the only major chip company that did not see a year-on-year decline in the quarter, CINNO said.
The Huawei subsidiary’s market share surged to 43.9 per cent, from 36.5 per cent during the same period last year, and beat US chip company Qualcomm whose share declined from 37.8 per cent to 32.8 per cent. Taiwan’s Mediatek maintained its third-place position, but also saw its market share slide year on year from 14 per cent to 13.1 per cent.
HiSilicon’s gains come at a time when the Chinese smartphone industry is being battered by delayed product launches and dampened consumer sentiment linked to the coronavirus pandemic. CINNO’s report showed that smartphone processor shipments in the country dropped by 44.5 per cent in the first three months of 2020, compared to the same period last year.
In May last year the Trump Administration added Huawei and its affiliates like HiSilicon to a trade blacklist, citing national security concerns.