Xiaomi smartphones make $5b in 2013

China's budget smartphone maker Xiaomi shipped 18.7 million units in 2013 making 31.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) pre-tax, up 150 percent, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said Thursday. [Photo / icpress.cn]

BEIJING - China's budget smartphone maker Xiaomi shipped 18.7 million units in 2013 making 31.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) pre-tax, up 150 percent, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said Thursday.

In December alone, Xiaomi sold nearly 3.23 million smartphones, generating a pre-tax revenue of 5.3 billion yuan, Lei said.

He also promised that the Beijing manufacturer will ship at least 40 million smartphones in 2014, more than double 2013's amount.

Xiaomi, which was founded only in 2010 is the rising star of China's smartphone market, and the company sees its primary task in 2014 as expanding its manufacturing capacity.

In 2013, Xiaomi announced a new flagship smartphone Xiaomi3, sub-brand Hongmi, Xiaomi TV and routers.

So far, Xiaomi has set up six warehouses, 18 flagship retail stores and 436 after-sales outlets nationwide, according to the statement.

Xiaomi's smartphones have gained popularity among Chinese customers at a staggeringly fast pace. In the first month following establishment in 2010, Xiaomi sold just about 10,000 smallphones.

In the third quarter of 2013, its sales market share beat Lenovo for the first time to rank second largest in China, next only to Samsung.

Xiaomi's accumulative market share also surpassed that of Lenovo to rank fifth in that quarter, according to an industry report released by consumer insight company Kantar Worldpanel.

"Xiaomi's success might come from its clever 'hungry marketing' gimmicks, but it's also related to Chinese buyers' enthusiasm for high spec-low price phones," said the report.

"People also began to realize that good user experiences don't necessarily come with a hefty price tag," it said.