Xiaomi sells 14.8 million smartphones in Q1 2016: IHS

Xiaomi, one of China's leading smartphone brand, has sold 14.8 million smartphones in Q1 2016, according to IHS. The figure also includes smartphone sold outside China as well.

Analyst Kevin Wang stated that the sales figure are almost identical to last year's, with Xiaomi selling around 14.98 million during the same period. Note that Xiaomi is yet to officially announce its result for Q1 2016.

In 2016, Xiaomi so far, has introduced the Redmi 3, Redmi Note 3 and Mi 5 smartphone and is gearing up for the launch of a phablet called Xiaomi Max.

2016 will be a very important year for Xiaomi, as it missed its smartphone shipment target last year, because of increased competition from Chinese brand including Lenovo and Huawei. The company had shipped over 70 million handsets in 2015, which is lower than the projected 80-100 million. Despite missing the target Xiaomi was able to reclaim the top spot in Chinese market. However, this year Xiaomi will receive competition from LeEco, which has become a popular smartphone brand, both in China and India.

For Xiaomi, India is the most important and the biggest overseas market, after China. Xiaomi's mid-range smartphones are hugely popular in India. This year the company launched the Redmi Note 3 and Mi 5 in the country which received overwhelming response. The company is also looking to set up single-brand retail stores to sell its devices in the country, and also plans to set-up two new manufacturing plants in the country.

Via