Ambitious Chinese technology company LeEco is on track to grow smartphone shipments to 25 million units from just 3.9 million last year, enough to make it the 11th largest vendor worldwide, according to Strategy Analytics.
The research firm said LeEco is the world’s fastest-growing major smartphone maker, which was attributed to its cost-competitive hardware, improving distribution and a growing ecosystem of media content.
LeEco (previously named LeTV) first entered the global smartphone market last year with the launch of its Le 1S and Le 2 flagship smartphones, which are proven popular in China and formed the foundation of its soaring worldwide growth, said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics.
The company expanded into India this year and it is eyeing the US market as its next growth engine.
LeEco in June added an 11 per cent stake in smartphone maker Coolpad, making it the largest shareholder in the firm with a 29 per cent interest. It purchased an 18 per cent stake in Coolpad for HKD2.73 billion ($352 million) last June.
LeEco, better known in China for its streaming video service, unveiled its latest “superphones” in April, the headline feature being the adoption of USB Type-C audio to deliver higher-quality than a traditional headphone socket. At the same event the company also introduced an autonomous electric vehicle concept and VR headset.
Strategy Analytics noted that LeEco is building a multi-platform ecosystem, using smartphones, smart TVs and other hardware products to distribute its growing media portfolio.
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