- Mexico’s smartphone market saw 13.3% YoY and 14.2% QoQ growth in Q3 2021.
- Motorola led the market with a 23.9% share.
Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul, London, Beijing, San Diego – December 23, 2021
Mexico’s smartphone market saw impressive growth during Q3 2021 even as many LATAM markets were heavily impacted by the ongoing component shortages. The country’s smartphone shipments grew 13.3% YoY and 14.2% QoQ in Q3 2021. The same quarter last year had seen COVID-19 affecting the region’s smartphone market.
Commenting on the market dynamics, Principal Analyst Tina Lu said, “Mexico’s market is the second largest in Latin America, and its TAM (total addressable market) is getting closer to Brazil. Although the Mexican population is only around 60% of that of Brazil, its TAM is close to 80% compared to Brazil. Mexico is an operator-driven market but still is one of the most competitive.”
Lu added, “Mexico is often the first market chosen by brands to enter LATAM. This helps the country’s consumers to access a variety of brands and models. This also results in a low-concentration market that allows many brands to have similar shares. Motorola is the current leader in this competitive market. The brand had an extraordinary performance for most of 2021. Mexico is the only market in which Motorola is the leader.”
Market Summary
- Motorola has a big portfolio of affordable smartphones (<$150 price range). It also benefits from having enough supplies to stay as the Mexican market leader. Besides, Motorola has strong branding and is one of the strongest in the Mexican open channel.
- Samsung, which was the leading brand in 2020, experienced its biggest YoY share and volume drop in Q3 2021 due to production disruption at its Vietnam factories and stiff competition from new entrants.
- OPPO saw the biggest YoY growth. Its market share grew more than five times. OPPO is the most successful among the Chinese brands that entered the region last year. OPPO was in Mexico for a short period in 2017 and is now benefitting from the brand-building undertaken then.
- ZTE almost doubled its share YoY. It benefited partly from Huawei’s woes. ZTE is the most operator channel-driven OEM in the region.
- Xiaomi more than doubled its share YoY but it was still fifth in the market. Its growth has not been as flashy as in other markets. Xiaomi needs to work more on brand-building.
- Huawei was once the leader of the Mexican market but is now in the ninth position. The brand’s woes have translated into the successful entry of other Chinese brands in the region.
Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.
Analyst Contacts:
Tina Lu
Andres Silva
Peter Richardson
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