Xiaomi wants to sell 100 million phones in 2015, tall task to equal Lenovo

Xiaomi plans to sell 100 million smartphones next year, according to Sina Tech. Founder and CEO Lei Jun commented on the number at the recent IT Leadership Summit in Shenzhen. Lei also expects Xiaomi’s revenue to hit RMB 70 billion (US$11.2 billion) this year.

Update March 31 @3:30: Xiaomi announced today it upped this year’s sales projection to 60 million smartphones from the previous 40 million. It’s already sold 11 million in the first quarter of this year.

Xiaomi already announced this year’s goal of 60 million units, while last year it came up 1.3 million short of its target 20 million.

That projection would put Xiaomi on pace with fellow Chinese smartphone maker Lenovo, which also recently announced the 100 million in 2015 goal. Both companies are gradually pushing their phones out to an international audience, but Xiaomi has some serious catching up to do. Lenovo sold more than twice as many phones as Xiaomi last year, according to IDC’s estimates.

Lei bases his projections on a consistent 150 percent increase year-on-year, which the company achieved between 2012 and 2013. The biggest obstacle for Xiaomi and Lenovo, however, might not be competing smartphone brands, but domestic consumers. China’s smartphone shipments fell for the first quarter in over two years in Q3 2013, according to IDC, and both companies are still mostly dependent on the Chinese market.

The graph below shows the steep hill Xiaomi will have to climb to catch up with Lenovo by 2015.

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