Nokia takes cell phone lead in North America
Market research company Gartner says that Motorola has lost its leading position in the North American cell phone handset industry to Nokia.
In its final report on worldwide cell phone sales in 2003, Gartner said that Motorola’s market share declined in the fourth quarter of last year.
Despite becoming the market leader in North America, Nokia suffered a marginal decline in its worldwide market share, although it is still outsells all of its rivals by far.
Worldwide cell phone sales totalled 520 million units in 2003, up 21% year-on-year, concluded Gartner. The company has now increased its forecast for 2004 unit sales from 560 million to 580 million.
“2003 sales surpassed industry expectations, with the fourth quarter presenting a challenge to many vendors as they struggled to meet supply,” said Gartner principal analyst Ben Wood. “Demand is set to continue in 2004, with the first quarter already looking strong.”
Nokia had a market share of 34.7% in 2003, down 0.4% on the 2002 figure, while Motorola, the second-biggest vendor in terms of sales, saw its share decline from 16.9% to 14.5%.
The market share appears to have swung towards the Asian manufacturers Samsung (10.5%) and LG (5%), as sales of phones in this region, particularly China, have shown strong growth.
