It seems that there has been a slight reshuffle on the podium of the largest handset manufacturers in the world. Huawei lost the third place, dethroned by... Xiaomi.
This result is apparently surprising – a little known Chinese company jumps on the podium behind Apple and Samsung! The surprise will be smaller when we realize that Xiaomi is the leader on the Chinese market, and this market is larger than Europe and the US combined. Still, even if we take into account the success of Xiaomi on a huge (although de facto local) market, the result is impressive. The company, which was founded just four years ago, now sells 19 million smartphones in one region of the world. What happens when its products will go to the US or Europe? Xiaomi also amazes with the growth rate of sales. In 2012, the company sold 5.7 million phones, but in 2013 - already 18.7 million. This year alone the first quarter ended with a result of 11 million, and the second - 15.1 million.
Cited results are yet unofficial – they come from IHS iSuppli analysts' calculations. Despite this, the chasm that divides Xiaomi from the fourth on the list Huawei (with a score of 16.8 million phones sold) suggests that even the verification of sales volume will not change the balance of power.
Source Chosun
