为何说华为将成为中国最大智能手机厂商

外界对中国智能手机厂商的很多溢美之词都给了小米。小米是一家类似苹果的企业，有着忠诚的用户群体。然而，华为可能才是更应该关注的中国手机厂商。

最近，华为宣布了消费者业务集团（华为智能手机业务隶属于该部门）第三季度的业绩。报告显示，华为智能手机第三季度出货量达到2.74亿部，同比增长63%。在中国这个巨大而又发展迅猛的智能手机市场上，华为的出货量提高了81%。对这家公司来说，一个或许最重要的现象是，华为中高端手机正在引起越来越多消费者的兴趣，这类产品的规格参数更出色，价格更高，利润空间也更大。

华为在2014年的收入为465亿美元，尽管大部分收入来自通讯和网络设备业务，但各类智能手机的销售额也不容小觑。华为的旗舰机包括Mate 7和P7，以及旨在对抗苹果iPhone的P8。这些机型的销量均已远超400万部。此外，华为还生产多款主打中东、拉丁美洲和非洲等新兴市场的廉价手机。

这几年来，大出风头的一直是小米。华为则被视为一家通讯公司，智能手机只是副业。然而，华为正在蜕变为中国史上最大的手机厂商，而且完全没有放缓脚步的迹象。

国际数据公司（IDC）项目总监和市场分析师赖安·瑞思表示：“华为在今年的表现令人印象深刻，我预计这种增长势头可以持续到2016年。这家公司可能会成为中国历史上第一家智能手机年出货量超过1亿部的厂商。大部分人曾认为小米最有可能实现这一成就。”

华为消费者业务集团总裁余承东表示，迅速增长的业绩让华为“非常自豪”。他相信，华为将在今年实现智能手机出货量1亿部的目标。

IDC在今年7月透露，华为在2015年第二季度成为全球第三大智能手机厂商，仅次于三星和苹果。这进一步证明华为将成为中国最大、最重要的智能手机制造商。在三星出货量同比下降2.3%的同时，华为的出货量提高了48.1%。

调研公司IHS Technology的首席分析师维恩·拉姆表示：“我们可以把华为想象成剩余市场（除去苹果和三星所占的市场）中的领头羊。他们是智能手机行业中一股不断壮大的力量，有望从苹果和三星之外的其他品牌中脱颖而出。”

那么，华为是如何做到的呢？华为的成功并不是拜中国市场所赐。据拉姆介绍，海外市场约占华为手机出货量的一半，这一傲人业绩应该归功于该公司对海外市场的大举投资。

瑞思说：“为了促进海外市场的增长，我认为，华为在29个市场做出了大量战略营销投资，这其中不仅有高增长的地区（拉丁美洲和中东），还有那些市场更加成熟且能提高曝光率的重要地区（西欧、澳大利亚和美国）。华为的产品设计很棒，但这些投资才是驱动华为迅速提高曝光率，并最终打开海外销售渠道的主要推动力。”

拉姆认同这种看法，并补充道，在第三季度，华为智能手机在欧洲的出货量提高了98%，“从所有指标来看，华为都取得了巨大的成功。”然而，华为与众不同之处在于，其智能手机业务还能依靠其他业务部门，尤其是芯片制造部门的支持。拉姆表示：“华为取得成功的一个关键是他们的垂直整合能力。”这一特征很像三星，华为旗下的海思公司能够生产手机使用的芯片组和调制解调器 。

华为的前景看上去一片光明。确实如此，市场分析家认为，在短期内，华为基本不可能被中国的竞争者超越。一切迹象都表明，华为将奔着破纪录的增长而去。

谈到华为的未来时，拉姆表示：“与其他领先的中国制造商相比，华为很可能会保持市场领先地位。”（财富中文网）

译者：严匡正

审校：任文科

Much of the hype surrounding China-based smartphone makers has centered on Xiaomi, an Apple-like company with a very loyal fanbase. However, it’s Huawei that may just deserve the spotlight.

Huawei on Tuesday announced the third-quarter performance for its Consumer Business Group (CBG), which encompasses the company’s entire smartphone business. Huawei reported that it sold 27.4 million smartphones worldwide during the period, up 63% year-over-year. In China, a massive and growing smartphone market, Huawei’s shipments rose 81%. Perhaps most importantly for the company, it experienced “growing interest” in its mid-to-high-end products, which boosts better specs, higher price tags, and solid margins.

Huawei generated over $46.5 billion in revenue in 2014—largely on the sale of telecommunications and networking equipment—and sells a wide range of smartphones. The company’s flagship Mate 7, P7, and P8 devices—which take aim at products like Apple’s iPhone—have all sold well over 4 million units each. Huawei also sells several cheaper smartphones designed for emerging markets, such as the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa.

For years it was Xiaomi that stole the show and Huawei was viewed as a telecommunications company that sold smartphones on the side. Now, though, Huawei’s on pace to become the biggest China-based phone maker ever, and there are no signs of it slowing down.

“For Huawei, they have been one of the more impressive smartphone [makers] this year and I expect they will continue this momentum right into 2016,” says IDC program director and market analyst Ryan Reith. “[Huawei] will most likely be the first Chinese smartphone [maker] to surpass 100 million shipments in a year ever. Most people thought this would have been Xiaomi.”

The company’s Richard Yu, CEO of CBG, says that his company is “extremely proud” of its growth, adding that he, too, believes Huawei will ship over 100 million smartphones this year.

The revelation that Huawei, and not Xiaomi, is set to become the biggest and most important Chinese smartphone maker was underscored in July when IDC revealed that the company was the world’s third-largest smartphone maker—behind Samsung SSNLF 5.00% and Apple AAPL 4.13% , respectively—in the second quarter of 2015. While Samsung’s shipments were down 2.3% year-over-year, Huawei’s shipments were up 48.1% during the same period.

“Think of [Huawei] as leading the ‘rest of the market’ pack (excluding Apple and Samsung),” says Wayne Lam, principal analyst at IHS Technology. “We see them as a growing force in the smartphone industry, a [smartphone maker] that has potential to break from the pack of the brands outside Apple and Samsung.”

So, how did Huawei do it? Well, it’s not because of sales in China. According to Lam, Huawei sells about half of its smartphones outside of its home country—a move made possible by investing heavily in markets outside of China.

“To help support this growth they have made a number of strategic marketing investments in, I believe, 29 markets,” says Reith. “This includes both high-growth (Latin America, Middle East), as well as areas that are more mature but important for visibility (Western Europe, Australia, U.S.). They have great product design, but it’s investments like this that help drive visibility and ultimately make channels want to sell their products.”

Lam agrees, adding that in Europe—where shipments were up 98% in the third quarter—the company has been “tremendously successful by all measures.” However, it’s Huawei’s ability to rely on other parts of its business—most notably, its chipmaking division—that sets it apart. “A key to Huawei’s success has been their vertical integration (much like Samsung, they manufacture and use their own chipset/modem from their HiSilicon division),” Lam says.

Looking ahead, Huawei’s future seems bright. Indeed, market analysts believe there is little-to-no chance of Huawei being overrun by Chinese competitors anytime soon, and all signs point to record-breaking growth.

“When compared to other leading Chinese [manufacturers], Huawei will likely stay in a market leadership position,” Lam says of Huawei’s future.