Google Maps has lost its competitive edge in China,new stats for Q3 2012 show that it has lost nearly half its market share and slipping to sixth position – which is down from the number 2 spot that it held in Q2.

Google has lost its market share to Baidu Maps, Mapbar, Tiger Maps, and Sogou Maps. According to Analysys Internationl, Google only hold 9 percent of the mobile mapping market in China, which is down from 17.5 percent the previous quarter. The data was taken from Smartphones and not feature phones.

No one factor can be attributed to the sudden drop in market share, even though Android handsets are booming in China the Maps App does not come preloaded on handsets.  The website version of Google Maps is also blocked which could give some people the impression that it is faulty or slow.

Autonavi is still at the top but Baidu is gaining ground. Here is a chart breaking down the mobile mapping landscape.