(Yicai Global) March 2 -- The cost of buying one of Chinese handset giant Xiaomi’s latest flagship smartphones is nearly twice as much in Europe as it is in China.

Xiaomi released the international version of the Xiaomi 13 at the Mobile World Congress 2023, held in Barcelona from Feb. 27 to today. The Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro are priced from EUR999 (USD1,070) and EUR1,299 (USD1,390), respectively, compared with CNY3,999 (USD582) and CNY4,999 (USD727) in China.

These are suggested retail prices, a market insider told Yicai Global. Actual prices will vary from country to country depending on factors such as logistics costs, tax rates, sales channels, and marketing strategies, the person added.

Beijing-based Xiaomi, China’s biggest handset maker, aims to rapidly tap into the mid- and high-end European smartphone market with the newly launched products, according to analysts.

Xiaomi’s handsets have already secured a good spot in the low- and mid-end European market, said Lin Zhi, chief analyst at international market researchers Wit Display. With the Xiaomi 13, a lineup that features Leica lenses, the firm seeks to create a high-end brand image to swiftly enter Europe's mid- and high-end smartphone market, Lin added.

But Lin noted that the Xiaomi 13’s features are not outstanding enough, meaning that there is still a gap between the series and the up-market models on offer from Samsung and Apple. If sales prove unsatisfactory in Europe, Xiaomi may find a suitable price point in the market through continuous price reductions and promotions, he added. 

Xiaomi will continue to make efforts to tap into the high-end market and fully benchmark Apple’s iPhone, founder and Chief Executive Lei Jun said when the Xiaomi 13 was released in China last year. The Xiaomi 13 will compete with the iPhone 14, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro will take on the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

But most of Xiaomi’s handsets are priced at around CNY1,000 (USD150) each, according to the its earnings report for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2022. In the third quarter, the average price was CNY1,058.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione