Huawei boosted its average selling price (ASP) of smartphone shipments in China by 21 per cent last year, as its local rivals reported substantial declines, according to IDC.

Huawei, which saw shipments in the mainland expand 53 per cent last year to 62.9 million units, boosted its smartphone ASP to $213 (see chart below, click to enlarge). It was number two in market share after Xiaomi, which lost share and faced a 7.6 per cent fall in its ASP to $141 as its growth came mainly for its low-end Redmi models.

IDC ASPWhile number four Oppo had a 4.7 per cent year-on-year price decline, its ASP of $231 was still higher than Huawei’s. Vivo’s ASP dropped 9 per cent to $208.

Apple consolidated its third place position (see chart below, click to enlarge), boosting its market share from 8.8 per cent to 13.4 per cent year-on-year, and improved its ASP by 15.7 per cent – or nearly $100 — to $718.

With Huawei increasing the number of flagship models in the $200-$500 price range, this hit Samsung’s shipments of both mid-range and high-end handsets, IDC senior market analyst Tay Xiaohan said. Huawei expanded its share last year from 9.7 per cent to 14.5 per cent.

IDC smartphone China 2015While IDC data showed shipments in the country expanded 8 per cent to 117.3 million units in Q4, Strategy Analytics last month reported China’s smartphone market fell 4 per cent during the quarter. Both research firms said smartphone shipments increased 3 per cent last year (to 434-438 million units).

IDC expects smartphone growth in China to be flat this year due to the market maturing, rather than the slowing economy, Tay said. “Despite the economic headwinds, we expect major vendors such as Apple and Huawei to continue to do well in 2016 as consumers seek more sophisticated products.”