China’s ZTE boasted that it was the fifth biggest smartphone supplier in Europe during Q1 2016, boosting its ambition to secure a “top three” spot in key markets.

According to research from Counterpoint Technologies, ZTE, which is selling its Axon and Blade devices in the region, managed to secure fifth position, based on research and data collected from approximately 90 per cent of smartphone manufacturers active in the world today.

As of the end of 2015, more than 30 million Blade devices had shipped in more than 50 countries, with strong uptake in Germany, Spain, France and the UK.

ZTE has since updated its Blade smartphone line up, with launches at Mobile World Congress 2016, and unveiled its Axon 7 flagship smartphone in May.

Jacky Zhang, CEO of EMEA and APAC at ZTE Mobile Devices, put the company’s recent success in Europe down to the launch of “premium smartphones pegged with an affordable price tag”.

The company’s mobile devices CEO Adam Zeng, in an interview with Mobile World Live, reiterated claims first made by ZTE in 2013, of its ambitions to land a “top three” smartphone spot.

Zeng said it is now targeting achieving the feat by 2020, with a particular focus on growth in China, the US and Europe.

Counterpoint Technologies recently ranked ZTE as the world’s seventh largest smartphone vendor.