(Yicai) March 7 -- Chinese television manufacturers Hisense Group and TCL Technology Group overtook their Korean peers Samsung Group and LG Electronics in terms of global shipments for the first time ever in the fourth quarter of last year.

Hisense and TCL seized 30.2 percent of the global TV shipment market in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a combined 26.2 percent share for Samsung and LG, according to the latest data from research firm Omdia.

Samsung continued to rank first globally in the fourth quarter, despite its market share dropping to 16.4 percent after its shipment volume declined 2.4 percent from a year earlier, Omdia data showed. LG Electronics saw its market share shrink to 9.8 percent after shipments fell 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Hisense and TCL ranked second and third with market shares of 15.6 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively, buoyed by 29 percent and 20 percent increases in shipments.

In the global color TV market, Chinese brands saw their share increase to 43 percent, while the cumulative share of Samsung, LG Electronics, and Sony fell to 48 percent, according to Omdia.

Chinese TV makers are expected to continue increasing their overseas market share in the future, especially in Europe and emerging markets, Zhang Bing, research director at Omdia China, told Yicai.

For example, TCL recently became an official worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partner in the home audiovisual equipment and home appliance category, further improving the image of Chinese TV brands in the international market.

The market shares of Hisense and TCL in the European market have both exceeded 10 percent after sponsoring major sports events, Zhang noted, adding that they can continue to grow in Europe, especially in the mid-to-high-end market segment.

In emerging markets, Chinese brands are also expected to maintain the lead, as Japanese and South Korean brands mainly promote mid-to-low-end products there, Zhang predicted.

The rapid rise of Chinese TV brands in the global market benefits from the concentration of the display panel production capacity in the Chinese mainland, Li Aiping, an analyst at research firm AVC Revo, told Yicai.

The supply chain cycle of major Chinese TV brands is short, which gives them cost advantages and strong competitiveness, Li said. Moreover, they have increased their marketing efforts overseas in recent years.

Therefore, the influence of Chinese TV products overseas is expected to continue to expand along with their market share, Li forecast.

Another factor affecting the competition in overseas markets of Chinese and South Korean TV makers is the different technologies they adopt, Zhang said. In fact, most high-end Chinese products use mini light-emitting diode panels, while South Korean flagship products mainly use organic LED panels.

Global shipments of mini LED TVs reached 6.2 million units last year, surpassing OLED TVs at 6.1 million units for the first time in history, according to data provided by Zhang.

Restricted by panel resources and profit bottlenecks, the OLED TV market is growing at a slower pace, while the popularity of mini LED TVs is growing rapidly, said Zhang Hong, deputy general manager of the large-sized display division at Sigmaintell Consulting.

The TV shipment value of Samsung and LG Electronics remains higher than that of Chinese brands because of their relatively higher high-end TV unit prices, Lu Yong, secretary-general of the Audio-Visual Branch of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, told Yicai.

Leading Chinese firms need to continue to work hard to increase the market share of mid-to-high-end products, Lu added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione