Xiaomi now world's fifth largest smartphone maker

China's Xiaomi has become the fifth largest smartphone maker in the world. The Chinese company reached this milestone in just three years.

The electronics firm run by billionaire Lei Jun has captured five percent of the global market share in the last three months, according to new figures from Strategy Analytics.

Xiaomi edged out Korean giant LG to claim the fifth spot.

It now has a share of 5.1 percent of the world's smartphone business up from 1.8 percent last year.

The company primarily sells its phones and tablet computers through flash sales on its site.

Samsung remains the global smartphone leader with a 25.2 percent share of the market in Q2 of this year, followed by Apple with 11.9 percent. China's Huawei with 6.8 percent and Lenovo with 5.4 percent are at the third and fourth positions respectively.

In India, Xiaomi has launched three phones. Its flagship offering Mi3 sold out on e-commerce sites within no time, media reports said.

Globally, smartphone shipments grew by 27 percent year-on-year to reach a record 295 million units in the second quarter.