Chinese SSD manufacturers are making waves in the SSD market owing to high local demand and support, according to a report from TrendForce. However, despite increased competition from these newer players, Kingston retains its premier position as the number one SSD module manufacturer by market share, standing at a staggering 34%.
Leading SSD brands in 2022 saw their market share surge to 72% in 2023 from 59% in 2022. The report asserts that these companies are leveraging their rising positions and value to secure better NAND Flash prices - from companies such as Samsung, Kioxia, Western Digital, SK Hynix, and Micron. SSD sales stood at 180 million in 2023, which is a 3.7% increase Year-over-Year and can be attributed to the price hike scare in the second half, which incentivized more consumers to purchase SSDs in advance.
Kingston's uncontested status is not surprising, as it is followed by Adata, which has a comparatively small market share of 11%. Lexar is tied with Adata at the third spot, with two domestic Chinese manufacturers, Kimtigo (9%) and Biwin (7%), stealing the spotlight at number four and five, respectively. Fun fact: Four of the ten companies listed are Chinese and contribute to around a quarter (23%) of the market.
TrendForce's analysis suggests that despite US sanctions, China has made great advancements in NVMe technology, upgrading from PCIe 4.0 to PCIe 5.0, enhancing local NAND Flash production using competitive process nodes, and so on. Likewise, two relatively unknown brands (Kimtigo and Biwin) are fueled predominantly by Chinese customers and hold almost 16% of the market.
While achieving node-parity with the likes of TSMC, Intel, and Samsung may take years for China, its growth in the memory controller and NAND Flash industry promises a better future. Perhaps one day, Chinese brands might be able to compete against the likes of Intel, Nvidia, and AMD—more competition is always beneficial for the consumer.
