Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi said on April 8 that it was raising the prices of its TVs due to factors including a chip shortage, a rare occurrence for the company.
Some models of Xiaomi and Redmi TVs will have their prices adjusted, but Xiaomi will take advantage of its supply chain to ensure that the price hike remains as cost-effective as possible, the company said.
Prices of core TV components, including display panels and chips, will remain high for a long time to come due to changes in supply and demand in the global market, COVID-19, and exchange rate changes, Xiaomi said.
Pan Jiutang, a partner in Xiaomi's industrial investment division, said, "It's just not possible to carry on cost-wise."
Xiaomi TVs are ranked No. 1 in China in terms of shipments in both 2019 and 2020. In addition, prices for Samsung and Sony TVs will rise by an average of 5-10 percent, according to chinastarmarket.cn.
With the shortage of wafer and packaging resources and significantly higher costs and longer production cycles, component price increases will inevitably lead to price increases for consumer electronics goods.
Samsung warns chip shortage could spread from cars to smartphones
