Motorola, who claim that they have grown market share in Australia by 50%, appear to have got themselves into third spot behind Samsung and Apple in the US market according to new research.
A Counterpoint Research study of the US market shows that Motorola has grown market share 131% during the past year in the USA as consumers walk away from Chinese brands such as Oppo, Vivo, Realme and after LG walked away from the mobile market and Huawei was banned.
A subsidiary of China’s Lenovo, this is the first time that the former US Company whose R&D is still in the USA has achieved this position.
Credit: MobileDrop
Back in 2008, when the feature phone market took centre stage, Motorola had the highest share in the handset market including feature phones and smartphones, a major contributor was their Razr flip phone which is tipped to make a return this year.
Unlike Samsung Electronics and Apple, where Samsung Electronics and Apple increased their market share in the premium price market, Motorola took the second place in the sub-US$400 market by targeting the value end of the market. This is a strategy the Company adopted in Australia before they started to push into the affordable premium market.
Last week Motorola launched a new Motorola Edge 30 Pro 5G device that retails for $999.
Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said, “A common question is how Motorola has grown to over 10% of the US market”
He claimed that Motorola has filled the void left by LG’s exit.
He claims that the new cheap Motorola models have all the key characteristics major carriers and retailers are looking for looking for – a full portfolio, an ability to ramp up volume, and low return rates.
Motorola’s sub-$300 portfolio – Moto G Stylus, Moto G Power and Moto G Pure – has driven its success in both Australia and the US with one of the main victims being TCL and their Alcatel brand which TCL has tried to replace with low-cost TCL branded mobiles.
He claims that due to their reliability, Motorola has been a key free ‘switch’ device, a device carriers use to move subscribers from networks that are being shut off or as an entry level model to a carriers’ network.
Commenting on the channel dynamics, Senior Analyst Varun Mishra said, “Motorola has grown its market share in the large US prepaid channels (Verizon Prepaid, Metro by T-Mobile, Cricket, and Boost) to 28%. Our Consumer Lens research shows Motorola remains a very trusted and known brand. Prepaid consumer studies have shown users look for value, dependability, and long battery life. Motorola scores well on these criteria.”
According to the Counterpoint Channel Share Tracker database, Motorola has maintained its momentum in Q1 2022. Mishra said, “Motorola has had a very strong tax season (February-March) in the US market. The brand’s goal for 2022 and 2023 is to grow its volumes in higher price tiers. This will be challenging with the stranglehold Apple and Samsung have on the US market. However, Motorola was very early in releasing 5G and foldable devices. It will attempt to benefit from the US subscriber base transition to 5G as well as the growth of foldables in lower price tiers.”
