Worldwide sales of mobile telephones rose by 21% last year when a total of 816.6 million handsets were taken up by users. Slightly more than half of them were made by Nokia and Motorola, a study by Gartner research showed today.
Overall sales were driven by continuing demand in emerging markets, and by consumers in Western Europe and North America who snapped up new models to replace their existing mobiles.
Stiff competition among major players drove down prices for basic handsets and increased pressure to add applications and change design, it said.
Six companies shared 79.4% of the market last year, according to the study - Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Siemens. Nokia and Motorola increased their share to 50.2%, compared with 46.1% in 2004.
Finland's Nokia sold a total of 265.61 million mobile phones representing 32.5% of the market from 30.7% in 2004. The company sold twice as many telephones as its competitors in Western Europe and Asia, and three times more in the Eastern Europe, Middle East and African regions.
The share of the global market held by Motorola of the US rose to 17.7% from 15.4% in 2004. It sold 144.92 million handsets and held on to its number two position worldwide and in Western Europe, and its top slot on its home market.
Samsung of South Korea stayed in third place, selling 103.75 million telephones and increasing its market share only slightly to 12.7% from 12.6% in 2004. Gartner put that down to a decision by the company not to engage in a price war with its competitors or to step into emerging markets.
LG, also of South Korea, sold 54.9 million telephones, representing a market share of 6.7%. In 2004 it had a 6.3% slice.
The Swedish-Japanese alliance Sony Ericcson, which was in fifth place, sold 51.77 million. That represented 6.3% of the market, up from 6.2% in 2004.
Germany's Siemens, however, saw a slump. Its 2005 sales of 28.59 million were almost half those a year earlier.
Overall, the industry sold 164 million mobiles in Western Europe last year. The East European, Middle East and African market was almost as healthy, reaching a combined 153.5 million.
In North America, sales were 148.4 million, while in Latin America they hit 102 million, a 40% increase from the figure in 2004. In the Asia-Pacific region, sales reached 204 million.
