Xiaomi sells 26.1m smartphones in the first half of 2014, surpassing unit sales for whole of 2013

As popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi’s overseas expansion gets into high gear — with recent launches in Malaysia, the Philippines and India — the company has just announced that it sold 26.1 million smartphones in the first half of this year. Other than marking a jump of 271 percent from a year earlier, this means Xiaomi has already surpassed the number of units sold for the whole of 2013.

Xiaomi sold 18.7 million smartphones in 2013, up 160 percent from a year earlier and more than its initial target of 15 million devices.

For the first six months of 2014, Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun also revealed that it hauled in total revenue of CNY33 billion ($5.3 billion), up 149 percent from the same period a year earlier. This figure isn’t indicative of profit, but it is still rather remarkable considering that Xiaomi released its first device as recently as 2011.

Xiaomi had already shipped 11 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, and Lei previously stated that the company expects to ship 40 million smartphones for 2014, but said that it could reach 60 million units instead.

Lei has also said that he expects Xiaomi to ship 100 million smartphones next year.

Xiaomi took its first step outside of Greater China by moving into Singapore — and has been extremely busy widening its reach to other parts of Southeast Asia, and most recently India. The company’s international ambitions have been driven by high-profile former Google VP Hugo Barra — and now VP for Xiaomi Global. After making steps in Asia, there are also indications that Xiaomi is looking to introduce its devices in Latin America.

Xiaomi has made a name for itself by selling smartphones packed with high-end specs but at lower prices compared to other Android phone manufacturers including Samsung and HTC — which appeals to price-conscious customers in emerging markets. For example, in Singapore, the budget Redmi costs just S$169 ($134), while Xiaomi’s flagship Mi 3 has a price tag of S$419 ($332) unlocked.

Headline image via Hugo Barra/Google+