China’s TV manufacturers TCL and Hisense increase market share despite weak global smart TV sales in 2022

By Greg Gao

(JW Insights)May 18 -- China’s TV vendors TCL and Hisense bucked the trend and significantly increased their market shares even though regional conflicts in Eastern Europe led to a collapse in demand in the region in 2022, resulting in weak global TV sales, according to a recent report by market research firm TechInsights.

Several major regional markets, including the Eastern Europe, showed declines in TV sales. The shipments of smart TVs in the Asia-Pacific region decreased by 3.3% in 2022, sales in North America dropped by more than 8%, and numbers in Western Europe fell by 10% last year.

The data shows that in 2022, Samsung topped the market with a share of nearly 20% of total global shipments, followed by TCL (12.1%). TCL surpassed LG (11%) for the first time in 2022. Hisense was the fourth supplier with a double-digit market share (10.4%) and has established a leading position in several key regions. 

These two leading Chinese brands have also further expanded the European market and have taken over the market share of all major suppliers in Europe in recent years, including Samsung, LG, and Philips, according to TechInsights.

The report predicts that the total shipments of flat-panel TVs will be 217.3 million units in 2023, a decrease of 0.03% year-on-year, and the shipments of smart TVs will be 192.4 million units, an increase of 2.9% year-on-year.

TrendForce, another research company, expected the TV shipment volume to return to pre-pandemic levels in the second quarter of 2023, reaching about 47.26 million units, a month-on-month increase of 9.0%.