HUAWEI sets goal for HONOR to become fourth-largest OEM in the world

Huawei and its sub-brand Honor pushed out a press release recently which sets a few goals for both companies. While HUAWEI reaffirmed its goal to be the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world (a title currently owned by Samsung) it also set a goal for HONOR to become the fourth-largest in the world in the near future.

If HONOR became the fourth-largest OEM in the world, that would make it the second-largest in China, with only HUAWEI above it. Essentially, HUAWEI would be competing with itself in its home country (and elsewhere in the world, although slightly less so).

HUAWEI has been very clear about its goal to be the largest smartphone OEM by the end of this year, but its goal for HONOR is a bit vaguer. The press release states the goal explicitly but doesn’t give any kind of time frame. We reached out to both HUAWEI and HONOR to get a firmer declaration but didn’t hear back before press time.

HUAWEI recently released its 2018 financial report which was positive, to say the least. The company earned revenue topping $105 billion, about 19,5 percent more than it earned in 2017. Samsung, meanwhile, is reporting less encouraging financial reports.

HONOR is also doing well, with the press release saying it shipped 27.1 percent more product last year as compared to 2017 and achieved a year-over-year increase of over 170 percent in international sales.

Considering the overall global smartphone market saw a decline of 3.1 percent in shipments last year, HUAWEI’s and HONOR’s successes are all the more impressive.

However, Samsung is still in the top spot and very well could stay there if it keeps its new momentum going with the perceived success of the new Samsung Galaxy S10 line as well as the perceived success of its new mid-range phones in India. Time will tell.

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