Lenovo executive sees Motorola making a big jump in the global smartphone market

Motorola has developed its share of iconic phones. The original Razr V3, launched in 2004, was one of the best-selling feature phones ever with over 130 million units sold. The phone that started Androidmania, the Motorola Droid, was released in November 2009 and was the first true iPhone challenger (who could forget that "Droid" notification sound and the free turn-by-turn directions).

But after Motorola failed taking the smartphone market to the next level with the Atrix (which included the first fingerprint scanner on a smartphone in the post-iPhone era), the company saw its share of the handset market decline from 17% to 4% globally. Those stats show Motorola a great distance behind Samsung and Apple, both with worldwide shares above or close to 20%. According to NBC 5-TV, Dallas-Ft.Worth, Motorola parent Lenovo has devised plans to more than double Motorola's share of the worldwide smartphone market and move it into third place after Apple and Samsung.

According to IDC, the top three smartphone brands last year were Apple (20.1%), Samsung (19.4%), and Xiaomi (12.5%). For Motorola to capture Xiaomi's spot, Lenovo says that it will focus on the premium slice of the smartphone market which is the segment of the smartphone market that Apple and Samsung dominate. According to Matthew Zielinski, president of international markets at Lenovo, the current Razr+ foldable clamshell is Motorola's "stab at the premium market."

But for Motorola to move up from its current position as the eighth largest global smartphone manufacturer, it will need to take on such high-end premium models as the Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. Motorola already showed back in 2009 that it could take on the iPhone, but the market has changed drastically since then. Zielinski added that most Razr buyers converted to the clamshell from an iPhone.

In some markets, Motorola already trails only Apple and Samsung. For example, in the U.S., Motorola took advantage of ZTE's status as a national security threat to replace the firm as the third best-selling smartphone firm in the States. In Latin America, Motorola is number two as it trails Samsung but is ahead of Apple. Zielinski says that in markets that can affect its overall global performance, Motorola will look to achieve a 10% share by growing "stably."

One country that Motorola will need to focus on to replace Xiaomi is India where the country's money for value credo has made the brand very popular. Zielinski calls India "by far one of the most strategic countries" for Lenovo. He added, "We're going to place as many bets as we can because we think the growth of the Indian population is fantastic, and they're wonderful people."

The executive believes that Motorola needs only three years to move from number eight to number three in the worldwide smartphone market. "I would bet a paycheck that in three years we will be number three around the world," he said.