Samsung’s smartphone Q3 market share drops 14 points in Mexico 

Samsung ceded its top spot in Mexico in smartphones to Motorola during the third quarter this year, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research.

Motorola, Samsung, Oppo, ZTE and Xiaomi each held a market share of 23.9%, 17.9%, 12.3%, 12.2%, and 11.4%, respectively, in the Latin American country during the third quarter, the firm said.

The South Korean tech giant’s market share dipped by 14% year-on-year from the 31.9% it held in the same time period a year ago, Counterpoint Research said.

Samsung faced stiff competition from companies newly entering the Mexican market and the shutdown of its smartphone factory in Vietnam, which caused the share drop, the research firm noted.

At the same time, Motorola, owned by Lenovo, despite the global component shortage, has a diverse smartphone portfolio and built a strong brand image in Mexico, which allowed it to dominate the market there, Counterpoint Research said.

According to the data from the research firm, Chinese smartphone makers performed overall as well. ZTE and Xiaomi’s market share nearly doubled from a year ago during the quarter. Oppo, which entered the Mexican market in 2017, saw its share increase by five times for the same time period, allowing it to surpass ZTE to take the No.3 spot.

Meanwhile, for the entire Latin American market, Samsung held a 36% market share, followed by Motorola’s 23% and Xiaomi’s 10%, according to an earlier research report by Counterpoint Research.