how Chinese brands are developing the SSD market
Source: redd.it
In 2023, Chinese SSD brands sharply strengthened its positions, occupying 34% of the world market. What's the secret? First of all, development became possible thanks to high domestic demand and active support from the state. In addition, Chinese companies quickly adapt to the market situation, introducing innovations, despite sanctions and fairly strong competition.
Rapid growth of Chinese brands in the global SSD market
Chinese SSD manufacturers such as Kimtigo, Biwin, Teclast, Colorful and Lexar are showing significant results in international sales. According to TrendForce reportat the end of 2023, these companies entered the top ten largest SSD suppliers. They have occupied a significant share of the world market, thanks to which China has become a leader in sales volumes. In total, Chinese manufacturers accounted for 34% of all SSD shipments in the global retail market.
Lexar, one of the most famous brands (formerly part of Micron), was acquired by Chinese Longsys in 2017. This transaction allowed Lexar to maintain its status as a significant player in the market and led to its strengthening in Asia. Kimtigo and Biwin also strengthened their positions, taking fourth and fifth places in the global ranking with shares of 9% and 7% respectively. At the same time, they receive a significant part of their income from the domestic Chinese market, where there is an increase in support for local manufacturers.
In recent years, Chinese consumers have increasingly preferred national brands, which has become an important factor in the growth of SSD sales. Government subsidies and support programs for semiconductor manufacturers in China also play a role. For example, YMTC, a manufacturer of NAND flash memory, is actively modernizing its production, despite US sanctions. In 2023, YMTC began its transition to PCIe 5.0 technology, which became a new milestone for Chinese manufacturers, closing the gap with international competitors.
Support for domestic brands reflects a growing trend of nationalism in China's electronics market, with consumers voting with their wallets for domestic products, helping brands increase their global market shares and strengthen their domestic positions. According to Counterpoint Research, Chinese buyers are increasingly choosing local brands even among premium products.
Positions of world leaders: Kingston, Adata and others
Despite the powerful offensive of Chinese companies, Kingston still remains one of the leaders in the SSD market with a share of 34%. This American brand makes good use of its reputation by offering both budget and premium SSD models for various categories of users. Adata, a Taiwanese company, also holds second place with an 11% share, competing with Lexar, which shares third position. These brands are actively investing in innovation and continue to strengthen their position through lucrative NAND contracts with major manufacturers such as Samsung and Micron (IDC).
Other players, such as Gigabyte and PNY, occupy more modest positions with shares of 2% and 1%, respectively. However, they are actively developing their SSD lines to meet the demand for premium and high-performance solutions, which allows them to remain competitive.
Market growth and the impact of the pandemic
Total SSD sales in 2023 were 118 million units, up 3.7% from 2022. The main driver of demand was the renewal of devices purchased during the pandemic, when interest in home PCs and laptops was especially high. An additional factor was the growing need for larger storage capacities, as 256 and 512 GB, which are installed in standard laptops and computers, are becoming insufficient for modern users who enjoy multimedia applications and games.
Reducing the technological gap with Western and Taiwanese manufacturers is one of the strategic goals of Chinese brands. In particular, the introduction of PCIe 5.0 by YMTC and Biwin became possible thanks to support at the government level and the development of their own solutions for SSDs. This provides Chinese brands with stable growth and strengthens their position in the global market.
What's the result? The growing popularity of Chinese SSD brands in the global market indicates the serious plans of manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom. It is likely that the share of Chinese manufacturers will continue to grow, especially against the backdrop of increasing dependence on data storage technologies in the field of artificial intelligence and cloud solutions, which require high speed data transfer and processing.
