Lenovo believes it can become the number three smartphone brand

Chinese brand Lenovo is betting hard on its subsidiary Motorola. It bought the brand from Google in 2014 to compete with the likes of Samsung and Apple. Over the years, it has positioned itself as one of the key players in the smartphone range, but there’s more. At least, Lenovo Group’s executive vice president & president (international markets), Matthew Zielinski believes so. He bets Motorola will become the third biggest smartphone player in the world.

Lenovo’s top exec believes Motorola will become third third-biggest smartphone brand

“I would bet a paycheck that in three years we will be number three around the world,” Matthew Zielinski told CNBC. Right now, Motorola and Lenovo together have about 4% of the global smartphone market, according to Counterpoint Research (via CNBC).

Even though this doesn’t sound like a lot, Motorola is doing well in some areas. It’s the third-biggest company in the US. Zielinski explained that Lenovo has a plan to grow its market share in different parts of the world. They want to keep growing steadily until they reach a 10% market share in specific regions. This will add up and help them become more popular globally. They’ve also entered the premium market with the foldable Razr to compete one-on-one with the likes of Apple and Samsung.

Could India help Lenovo/Motorola succeed?

Samsung is currently the most popular smartphone brand in India, according to Counterpoint Research, closely followed by Xiaomi, Vivo, realme, OPPO, etc. Samsung aside, Xiaomi and others entered India about a decade ago.

Motorola had already made it to the South Asian country. Its legacy helped it rebuild trust among users. Despite changes over the years, Indians still associate Motorola with its reputation from the 90s, placing more importance on the brand itself rather than its current ownership.

So, India could be a safe bet for Motorola. Zielinski also mentioned, in the report, that Lenovo may increase manufacturing in Pondicherry, India. He added, “We’re having important talks with the Indian government, and we’re also planning to make more things in India, which will create more jobs there.” He concluded by saying that Lenovo is paying attention to India.