BEIJING, January 5 (TMTPost)— Huawei Technologies Ltd is stepping up supply to meet its annual smartphone shipment target.

Credit：Huawei

The shortage of capacity and insufficient stocking of Huawei’s 5G mobiles like Mate 60 is steadily improving compared with last September and October, when a number of offline channels were struggling with the out-of-stock,  Tencent Shenwang cited distributors in China. The news column under Tencent News noted Huawei has raised its shipment target for the year 2024 as it is gearing up production of Mate 60 Pro. It cited sources that Huawei has placed enough additional orders with supply chain to make sure it can hit the shipment target of between 60 million and 70 million units per previous report.

Huawei surprisingly launched a presale for Mate 60 Pro priced at RMB6,999 (US$960) on August 29 2023 even though it has not officially released the model. The low-profile presale turned out such a success that the first batch of the phone sold out within hours, igniting fervor for Huawei’s 5G comeback in China.

While Huawei didn’t provide details about technical specifications or whether the phone supports the 5G network, Chinese media outlets said online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. Multiple reports attributed Mate 60’s 5G connectivity to Kirin 9000s chipset, which was deemed as evidence that Huawei managed to defy years of U.S. sanctions. Although the network speed test tool displays 4G LTE network, actual test results surpass the theoretical limit of 150Mbps, reaching over 800Mbps, fully meeting 5G network speed standards.

A week after Mate 60 Pro debut, Huawei initiated pre-orders for new models including the Mate X5 and the Mate 60 Pro Plus. Online shoppers can place their orders with a deposit of RMB1,000 for each mobile, and the device is expected to be delivered by October 9. Without any prior advertising, sales of new models highlighted strong demand. Huawei started one-time sales for Mate X5 with the starting price of RMB12,999 on September 14. The state-run newspaper Shanghai Securities News found the smartphone was sold out within seconds at Huawei online marketplace. 

Huawei was said in September to launch a comprehensive program to return to the smartphone market, buoyed by the best-selling Mate 60 series. Huawei has raised shipment target in the second half of 2023 for Mate 60 by 20% as sales of the flagship were stronger than the company’s expectation, according to the state-backed newspaper Securities Daily that month. Huawei was also reported  to deliver at least 40 million units of new smartphone in 2023.

The shipment plan of Mate 60 Pro has increased by about 20% to 5.5 million to 6 million units as the demand for the device has been strong since inception, said TF International Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo in September. Kuo forecasted at least a total of 12 million Mate 60 Pro mobiles would be shipped 12 months after launch

Kuo, as one of the most reliable sources of data on Apple products, anticipated that Huawei’s mobile delivery in 2023 will increase about 65% from the previous year to 38 million units, driven by demand for Mate 60 Plus, and its delivery in 2024 is expected to be no less than 60 million.

Nikkei Asia reported in October that Huawei has set a goal to ship between 60 million to 70 million smartphones in 2024. It was also reported that Huawei has placed sufficient orders with its supply chain to ensure it meets the annual target for 2024, and is stocking important components for future smartphone release. This reported 2024 target is more than the combined mobile shipments in the previous two years and represents a doubling of shipments compared to 2022. It is also equivalent to the company’s yearly delivery in 2014. Huawei’s peak smartphone shipments over the past decade occurred in 2019, when it delivered 240 million units while Apple’s iPhone shipment stood at 98 million units.

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