Moto is “winning” the mid-to-low tier of the UK market, according to UK managing director Miles Norman.
Speaking to Mobile News at Mobile World Congress, Norman revealed Moto shipments grew just short of 30 per cent quarter-on quarter over Q4 last year, translating to 30 per cent year-on-year.
Over the past 12 months, Moto sold up to 1.5 million devices in the UK, taking five per cent of the overall market and 30 per cent of the £150-£250 section of the market. Norman said the Moto G series continues to be a big earner for the manufacturer in a market that, according to recent research, is in decline.
Norman said: “We have seen tough market conditions for everyone over the last few months but the good news for us is that in that downturn we have still been growing.
“The Moto G continues to be a real strong hold of our business. I think it is the most widely-known and asked-for device and given the ratio of specs against cost it is why
we are winning in that space.”
The G series has consistently accounted for 60 per cent of business in the UK for Moto, with the sixth generation of the device to be released in the second half of this year.
Aspirations
Norman said the manufacturer continues to hold aspirations of taking and maintaining the third-highest number shipments in the UK market, set out in summer last year.
He said Moto is “in the pack and in the hunt” for third place in the UK market, adding: “We’ve been trending consistently over the last year to 18 months, month in and month out, quarter in and quarter out, maintaining our share of the market, and we still see ourselves very strongly positioned in that space.”
In the B2B space the UK general manager revealed that, following the release of the Vital Moto mod for the Moto Z series, the focus is in the medical sector alongside typical sales.
The Vital Moto can measure blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, plus oxygen and temperature Norman said: “We are having good success in the B2B enterprise space, whether that’s SMEs, the public sector or large enterprise.
“IT directors making decisions on what phone to purchase can buy £600 or £700 phones but, in the majority of cases, especially in the public sector, where we are doing very well, we are affordable but still offer strong performance to consumers and business users.
“The developers clearly saw a gap in the market for a mod on the back of the device that can take all your vital statistics easily and we thought it was absolutely worth investing in and bringing to market to show a great user case to the consumer.”