Huawei shipped more than 200 million smartphones in 2018, including devices from its Honor arm, marking a new record for the company.

The company said it has seen “approximately sixty-six-fold” growth over the past eight years, growing from 3 million units in 2010. It noted that it has gone from being a statistical other to a consistent top-three player, even taking number two spot from Apple in several quarters.

Huawei smartphones are being used by more than 500 million customers in more than 170 countries, it continued.

In terms of specific devices and lines, Huawei said that since its release in March 2018, its flagship P20 series has seen shipments of more than 16 million units, “with female users accounting for nearly half of that number”.

The Mate 20 series has recorded shipments in excess of 5 million units within two months of release.

Huawei’s mid-tier Nova line has been popular among young users, the statement said. It said that as of the end of 2018, the series has sold more than 65 million units. It did not provide figures for its Honor-brand devices.

Against a backdrop of security concerns about its parent’s infrastructure business, Huawei said it has “put the issue of privacy protection ahead of basic commercial interests”. It complies with Generally Accepted Privacy Principles (GAPP), as well as requirements under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

It also said it applies Privacy by Design principles throughout its product development, design, verification, sales, services and procurement activities. It said it has built onto the open ARM chip architecture and underlying Android platform to further enhance security.