According to latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the company now ranks second among Android™ brands in Europe in the third quarter of 2015, compared to sixth place in 2014. The report examined smartphone sales in the third quarter of 2015 in Europe’s big five markets Germany, UK, France, Spain and Italy.
“While we have been able to hold our market leadership in China for quite some time, we now want to strengthen our position in Europe as well. Our aim is to be a consumer loved top brand in the region.“ said Richard Ren, President of Consumer Business Group, Western Europe Region, Huawei Technologies. “With our new flagship products, such as the Huawei P8 and Mate S launched this year, we have expanded our portfolio with high-end devices in the premium segment to drive demand and brand awareness. This is not only a strong statement regarding our future strategy, it also enables us to offer innovative and stylish devices at every price point. We are delighted to see that more and more consumers are choosing Huawei smartphones and expect this customer preference to keep growing in the future.“
In the third quarter, which ended 30 September 2015, Huawei sold 27.4 million devices. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, this represents an increase of 63 percent. Within this, devices from the mid and high-end segment accounted for 33 percent, which is an increase of seven percent compared to the previous quarter.
Huawei also very strong in European patents
Huawei has risen to the 4th position in the ranking of companies filing patents with the European Patent Office (EPO), the office annual report 2015 has revealed. The company filed a total of 1953 applications. For the second year in a row Huawei topped digital communications, boasting 1197 filings in this sector alone.
Hot on the heels of Philips, Samsung and LG, the overall ranking places Huawei ahead of Siemens and United Technologies. In the field of digital communications, where Huawei once again grabbed the top spot, the company came ahead of Ericsson and Qualcomm.
In a globalised market, patents are important drivers of innovation and growth. Through IPR protection, they encourage vital investments in research and development. To be able to contribute innovative patents to the industry, Huawei invests over 10% of its revenue in R&D very year. Its research activities in Europe, where over 1900 highly qualified R&D engineers and consultants are currently working for Huawei, are a cornerstone of this strategy. The company’s European network of R&D centres, with the European Research Institute (ERI) in Louvain, Belgium, at its helm, fosters win-win research collaboration with European partners.
By: N. Peter Kramer
