Xiaomi photo:VCG

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's market share in Europe has surpassed Apple in the first quarter of 2021, ranking the second behind Samsung, according to Zeng Xuezhong, vice president of Xiaomi.

According to Zeng's post on Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Thursday, it is the first time that Xiaomi's market share has ranked the second in Europe. 

The brand's shipments in Western Europe soared in the first quarter to take the third slot, while in Spain Xiaomi has been the biggest smartphone brand for five consecutive quarters.  

The brand's share in the first quarter in Europe registered at 23 percent, according to Canalys, trailing after Samsung's 35 percent market share. Apple's market share reached 19 percent. In Western Europe, Xiaomi took up 17 percent of market share, ranking the third in place after Samsung and Apple. 

The increase of Xiaomi's shipments in Europe is partly due to Huawei's shrinking smartphone business, which has taken a hit amid US' microchips export ban, Ma Jihua, a senior tech industry analyst based in Beijing, told the Global Times.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, Huawei's smartphone shipments plunged 42 percent in the European market, compared to the same period in 2019. 

For the first quarter of 2021, Huawei's sales dropped 16.5 percent to 152.2 billion yuan ($23.52 billion), mirroring a faltering smartphone business as the company is struggling with the US government's crackdown. Nevertheless, Huawei Technologies reported a higher profit for the first quarter due to strong sales in China.

Other mobile businesses, including Chinese and US ones, have also been benefiting from the vacuum left by Huawei phones. 

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo ranked fourth in the European market with 4 percent of market share, higher than Huawei's 3 percent. In Western Europe, Oppo has also surpassed Huawei's market share to rank the fourth. 

Apple's sales have been booming. Its sales increased 54 percent from the same period last year, with double-digit growth in every product category listed in the report.