Xiaomi targets 40 million smartphones in 2014

Smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Corp said it expects to ship 40 million smartphones in 2014, more than doubling the 2013 figure.

Lei Jun, founder and chief executive officer of Xiaomi, said on his Sina Weibo micro blog on Dec 31 that Xiaomi will guarantee smartphone shipments of 40 million units in 2014.

During the first half of 2013, Xiaomi said it sold 7.03 million mobile phones, realizing revenue of 13.3 billion yuan ($2.16 billion). Analysts said they expected Xiaomi to fulfill its annual sales target of 15 million handsets in 2013.

Xiaomi also disclosed that its half-year revenue in 2013 exceeded the company's 12.6 billion yuan revenue from all of 2012. As of June, Xiaomi had more than 14 million smartphone users on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.