SEOUL, KOREA - LG Electronics shot up to the No. 3 position in the global smartphone sales ranking in the first quarter of this year, standing right behind Samsung Electronics and Apple. This is the first time for LG Electronics to grab the No. 3 spot in terms of sales volume, although it was positioned at No. 3 in the fourth quarter of last year in terms of sales amount.
According to a market research firm Strategy Analytics, LG Electronics sold 10.3 million smartphones worldwide in the January-March period of this year. LG Electronics commanded a market share of 4.9 percent, ranking No. 3 among the world's major smartphone makers. This figure represents more than two-fold growth compared to 4.9 million units a year ago. Considering that LG Electronics was positioned at No. 7 with a market share of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, LG Electronics is growing at a robust pace.
Ranking No. 4 and 5 were China's Huawei and ZTE. Huawei sold 10 million smartphones with a market share of 4.8 percent, while ZTE sold 9.1 million units with a share of 4.3 percent.