Xiaomi sells 26.1 million smartphones in first half of 2014, still on target for 60 million this year

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said this morning that the Chinese phone-maker has sold 26.1 million smartphones in the first half of 2014. He pointed out that it’s a leap of 271 percent from its sales last year, according to Xiaomi’s own blog (via The Next Web). Xiaomi sold 18.7 million smartphones in 2013, which was more than double its tally in 2012.

The new 26 million figure means that Xiaomi is still on course to hit its target of 60 million phone sales for the whole of 2014.

Xiaomi’s growing sales are so strong that it’s now counted as a global top 10 phone-maker. Figures from IDC reveal that it’s China’s sixth strongest selling phone brand. But with strongly-specced phones at half the price of flagship devices from the likes of Samsung, it’s slowly climbing up the rankings in China. Samsung and Lenovo remain the top smartphones in China.

See: Hugo Barra explains how Xiaomi works

Today Lei Jun also revealed Xiaomi’s revenues of RMB 33 billion (US$5.32 billion) for the first half of 2014, which is up 149 percent from the previous year. In China, Xiaomi sells phones, the Mi Pad tablet, Mi TV, Xiaomi Box, routers, as well as web services and accessories, though in most of its markets outside China it makes money solely from one or two smartphone models.

Xiaomi has expanded its phone sales to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. It’s prepping launches in India, Indonesia, and Thailand in the coming months.

See: Xiaomi Power Bank proves popular as phone users seek a cheap battery boost