Xiaomi has announced a hike in the prices of its popular products, the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Mi TV 4 to keep up with the increased costs and the huge demand. Now, the Redmi Note 5 Pro is costlier by Rs 1,000 while the Mi TV 4 55-inch is dearer by Rs 5,000.
According to Xiaomi, the increase in prices is due to multiple factors ranging from huge demand to a new tax structure that imposes a 10 percent tax on PCBA imports. Xiaomi says that it can ramp up local PCBA production by 100 percent only by Q3 2018, and as such, it has to import a “significant number” of PCBAs.
Further, the depreciation of the INR by nearly 5 percent since the beginning of this year has also affected Xiaomi’s costs. These three factors together would have increased Xiaomi’s working costs and to make up for them, the company has announced a hike in prices of two of its popular products.
New prices applicable from May 1st
Xiaomi has announced that the new increased prices will be applicable from May 1st on Mi.com, Mi Home stores and Flipkart.
After the price hike, the Redmi Note 5 Pro 4GB variant will cost Rs 14,999, while the 6GB variant will continue to be available at Rs 16,999. The Mi TV 4 55-inch 4K HDR will now cost Rs 44,999, up from its original price of Rs 39,999.
Prices could come down later
While Xiaomi has not commented on whether the prices of the Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Mi TV 4 could come down in the future, the company has revealed that the local production of PCBAs will increase by 100 percent by Q3 2018. This could bring down Xiaomi’s PCBA imports, and there are chances that the company could pass on the benefit of reduced costs to its customers.
