Smartphone maker Xiaomi targets the Indian consumer ahead of global push

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has no plans to extensively expand into the US and European markets as it wants to focus on India in its global strategy, founder Lei Jun said.

“As a start-up, Xiaomi created a miracle over the past five to six years but we have developed too rapidly. We need to consolidate the Chinese market and be more focused on the India market under out global strategy,” Lei said in Beijing Monday.

India was a big market that had huge demand for “value-for-money” smartphone models, he said.

Data released by research firm IDC showed that Xiaomi’s market share in India in terms of smartphone shipments was 3.5 per cent in the fourth quarter last year, ranking No 7, lagged behind Apple Inc. with a 4.6 per cent market share.

Lei said that Xiaomi hoped to be one of the top three smartphone markers in India. The company also wants to explore other business opportunities in India, he said.

Xiaomi recently launched in China its new flagship model Mi 5, the first in ite line up to feature near field communication for mobile payments. The company said it would launch the new model in India next month, becoming the first foreign market to debut the Mi 5.

Last year, the Chinese smartphone company teamed up with Taiwan-based tech company Foxconn to start assembling phones in India.