• COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact the European smartphone market as sales contracted 24% YoY and 22% QoQ for Q2 2020.
• Chinese players held 35% market share in Europe, new entrants like Oppo and Xiaomi grew 41% YoY and 55% YoY, filling the void created by Huawei’s decline.
• Huawei continues to lead the chart for Russia smartphone market with 29% market share.
• OnePlus grew 128% YoY in Eastern Europe driven by the good performance of OnePlus 7t and 8 series.

New Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul, San Diego, London, Buenos Aires - July 29^th, 2020

The European smartphone market declined 24% year-on-year (YoY) and 22% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2020 amid the worst part of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Counterpoint’s Market Pulse service. Eastern Europe which seemed almost immune to the pandemic in Q1 2020 declined 24% YoY in the second quarter.

Commenting on the overall market, Peter Richardson, VP of Research said, “The impact of COVID-19 gathered speed in Europe during April as it was the first full month of lockdowns across almost the entire region, causing a decline of around 45% YoY and 30% MoM. As the lockdowns started to lift across Europe in May, the sales rebounded (+33% MoM). June was equally good, posting a further sequential increase of 34%. Though MoM comparisons look good, the overall scenario for the quarter still shows a 24% YoY decline.”

Sales did not completely stop as e-commerce channels remained open and functioning even in countries with the most severe lockdowns such as Spain and Italy, and this was supported by European governments’ generous furlough schemes. However, as this support is being reduced, there is an increased threat of wide-spread redundancies across many businesses. Russia’s smartphone market, which was slow to acknowledge the presence of COVID-19 in Q1 2020, became the worst affected European market in Q2 2020 declining 27% YoY for the quarter.

Commenting on the top OEMs in the European market, Abhilash Kumar, Research Analyst said, “Samsung continues to lead the market. This is driven by its diversified portfolio and new product lines that cater to the requirement of all price bands. Apple, supported by good performance of the iPhone SE and 11 series, restricted its sales volume decline to 14% YoY. Meanwhile, Huawei declined 46% YoY amid US-China trade sanctions. Xiaomi and Oppo grew 55% YoY and 41% YoY even during the pandemic. With their attractive specs at affordable prices, they managed to woo some potential Huawei users to gain share at its expense.”

Analyst Contacts:

Peter Richardson

Abhilash Kumar

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