Xiaomi’s rapid rise has been documented throughout the year, but recently, the company itself has confirmed its meteoric rise: it sold more than three times as many smartphones in 2014 as it did in 2013. In fact, Xiaomi sold more smartphones in the second half of 2014 than it did from 2H2011 to 2H2013 – with about 35 million in 2H2014 alone. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun posted these figures on his Weibo account.

The company is expected to release a new flagship phone later on January 9 in China –the Redmi 2 – that will retain the low price point of its predecessor (CNY699, or US$112). The company has focused on Chinese domestic sales and has begun to move into emerging markets in Asia and Latin America. India in particular has been a bright spot, as the company sold more than 1 million of its smartphones in the country in the past 5 months to fanfare and enthusiasm usually reserved for Apple’s band of brand fanatics. These sales occurred despite the suspension of sales late in the year due to a court ruling related to alleged patent infringement in a suit brought by Ericsson.

With enthusiasm for the company’s products seemingly only increasing even as the company spreads its wings into other markets – the company will enter Brazil, Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, Russia, and other markets this year if plans hold – the accessories ecosystem for the company’s products will become more and more valuable. Chinese manufacturers of such products may be uniquely positioned to take advantage of this, given the strong sales in the domestic Chinese market; many manufacturers are likely well-positioned to take large accessory orders quickly even for brand new markets.