Japanese Handset Makers Unit Sales in 2002
>> Japanese Handset Makers
Mobile Communications International
Issue 100
01 May 2003
Contrary to the hopes and fears of many in the mobile handset industry, Japanese manufacturers are not poised to reap the global rewards of their technology edge in digital media, software and applications, say equity research analysts at Morgan Stanley.
They believe that, "Japanese handset makers are unlikely to gain market share in 2003-04," with the market share remaining stable at 16 per cent. The problems for Japanese vendors, says Morgan Stanley, include lack of scale in export markets, lack of cost competitiveness, and too much focus on the proprietary domestic PDC standard which diverts valuable R&D resources.
The technology gap between Japan and other countries is also narrowing, particularly as 3G, expected to provide a boost to Japanese vendors, has been very slow to launch outside Japan.
On the positive side, statistics suggest an upturn in domestic sales as camera phones and 3G phones are driving the replacement market and exports have been brisker in the last year. However, views on the Japanese market are diverse, and Gartner recently announced that 2002 handset sales had dropped by three per cent in the second straight year of decline, replacement sales proving unable to offset falling numbers of new subscriptions.
Japanese Handset Manufacturers: Unit Forecast
Shipments (mln) 2002A 2003E 2004E
Panasonic 13.5 15.2 14.7
Kyocera 11.6 12.6 13.5
Mitsubishi 10.5 11.0 11.5
NEC 9.5 10.3 11.1
Sanyo* 8.4 10.0 NA
Toshiba 7.5 6.6 6.9
Sharp 5.5 5.9 NA
Total 66.5 71.6 74.2
Global Share 16.0% 16.2% 16.5%
* Company's own guidance. E=Morgan Stanley Research Estimates.
Source: Company Data, Morgan Stanley Research
- Eric - |
