Xiaomi tops China's mobile phone activation race

Xiaomi (1810) topped the new phone activation chart in mainland China in March with a 17 percent rise year-on-year, according to mainland media.

Xiaomi saw 3.24 million of its new phones activated last month and recorded a market share of 17.98 percent.

Founder and chairman Lei Jun forwarded the news on Weibo and expressed gratitude on Tuesday, the third post on his social media account this month after a fatal crash involving Xiaomi’s electric sedan SU7 in late March.

With the investigation still underway, Xiaomi has delayed several events including the launch of new products and its investor day, originally set to take place this month.

Shares of Xiaomi fell for two days in a row and lost 3.4 percent this week.

Huawei ranked a close second in the mobile phone race, with new phone activations gaining 19.87 percent year-on-year to about 3.23 million. The telecommunication giant posted a 17.9 percent market share.

China’s Vivo and Oppo, listed at third and fourth place, saw their numbers shrink by 2.7 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively, from a year ago.

US giant Apple, at 5th place in March, recorded a wider drop of 9.86 percent with over 2.55 million new phones activated in mainland China. Squeezed by Chinese rivals, Apple’s market share also narrowed to 14.17 percent last month.

THEMIS QI