China’s Xiaomi rolls out two low price phones it hopes will vault it to top spot in India
With both new models under 1,000 yuan, Chinese smartphone vendor has made sales volume a priority over profit margins – and India is its No 1 market
With its eyes on becoming India’s top smartphone brand by year end, China’s Xiaomi has introduced the latest models of the phones that are likely to get it there, hoping to fire a shot across the bows of bigger rivals Huawei and Apple in the process.
The full-screen model Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus, available for sale from Tuesday next week, carry a starting price that is one tenth that of iPhone X.
“Xiaomi has just introduced the cheapest full-screen smartphone among the top 10 vendors worldwide. The attractive price will enable it to grab market share from rivals,” said Yan Zhanmeng, research director for consulting firm Counterpoint.
The launch in India comes as Xiaomi is close to claiming market leadership in the country that is the world’s second largest phone market – as well as the fastest-growing. According to statistics from research firm IDC statistics, Xiaomi and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics each held 23.5 per cent of the market share in India during the third quarter, with Xiaomi almost tripling its shipments year on year and doubling them quarter on quarter during the period.
With both models under 1,000 yuan, a price space where Xiaomi once carved out its place as the world’s most valuable start-up, the smartphone vendor has clearly made sales volume a priority over profit margins.