India’s leading smartphone maker Xiaomi will not increase the prices of its existing mobile phone models despite wafer-thin margins, benefiting local consumers who would otherwise have had to pay more after North Block raised the levy on component imports in the federal Budget.
Xiaomi, which dethroned Samsung to head the India leader-board for two consecutive quarters, plans to sustain its leadership by launching six to eight phone models this year, besides the Mi TV, for which is it exploring local manufacturing. It also expects offline sales to make up 30-40% of its overall revenue by the year end, from around a quarter at present.
Manu Jain, managing director of India operations and global VP, said that the Chinese smartphone maker — it launched two new smartphones Mi Note 5, a global first Mi Note 5 Pro, and its popular Mi TV in India on Wednesday — was working on a plan to absorb the impact of the increase in the import duty on components. To be sure, Xiaomi makes 95% of its mobile phones in India through Foxconn's India arm.