Chinese brands claimed one-third of all smartphones sales in European in 2018

Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi look to Europe in the fall-out from the US government's action against Huawei

Chinese OEMs claimed almost one-third of the smartphone market in 2018, according to the box counters at analyst group Canalys.

According to Canalys, Chinese brands accounted for 32 per cent of the market of smartphone sales in Europe in 2018, with Huawei accounting for most of that. It took a 23 per cent share of the European market in the fourth quarter, according to Canalys's figures.

Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton has suggested that the US government friction with Huawei has benefited consumers in Europe, with Chinese manufacturers focusing on expanding European sales and market share rather trying to conquer the US market, which is a challenging proposition at the best of times.

"The political situation between Chinese companies and the US government has benefited European consumers," he said.

"The US administration is causing Chinese companies to invest in Europe over the US. The European market is mature, and replacement rates have lengthened, but there is an opportunity for Chinese brands to displace the market incumbents."

However, sales for the much-hyped Chinese brands OnePlus and Oppo failed to make much of an impact, although Xiaomi, thanks perhaps to deals with network operators like Three, took the number four spot with a share of six per cent in the fourth quarter.

And, as the company's latest results indicated, Apple also suffered a big drop in sales as buyers balked at paying £1,000 or more for a handset. While it claimed a still impressive 26 per cent share of the European market in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to Canalys, that's down from the 26.8 per cent share it claimed in the same quarter in 2017. Total sales for Apple were down six per cent, it added.

Samsung, meanwhile, remained Europe's market leader in the fourth quarter, with a share of 28.7 per cent - up marginally on 2017 - selling 16.2 million devices in Europe in the fourth quarter to Apple's 14.7 million.