In an interview with Sina Tech published earlier today, Redmi general Lu Weibing wasn’t shy about how Xiaomi and Redmi plan to aggressively expand its operations in 2019.
According to Weibing, Redmi plans to increase its investment in Europe and India. Currently, the top four smartphone manufacturers in Europe are Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi. In India, the top four smartphone companies are Xiaomi, Samsung, Vivo, and Oppo.
Interestingly, Weibing claimed that Xiaomi could obtain 50 percent of the smartphone market in India. That would be a considerable leap from the 29-percent market share that Xiaomi currently holds in India, but not completely impossible. In March, Xiaomi reported that it sold 200,000 Redmi Note 7 units in a matter of minutes.
Weibing also said that Redmi will focus on Latin American and African markets throughout the year, with plans to enter east, west, and central African markets this year. As it does in other areas, Redmi will be online-only in African markets and use a similar e-commerce strategy. That means plenty of flash sales for Africa residents.
Unfortunately, Weibing doesn’t mention any expansion into the United States. Xiaomi has talked about entering the U.S. market, but the country’s ongoing trade war with China and issues with Huawei might have the company thinking twice about such a move.
Android Authority reached out to Xiaomi for comment on Weibing’s interview, but didn’t receive a response by press time.
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