Sony considers price hikes and US manufacturing shift in response to Trump tariffs
Sony is weighing price increases for its products, including the PlayStation 5, and potentially moving some manufacturing operations to the United States. These strategic shifts come in response to US tariffs on Chinese goods implemented by the Trump administration, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports, citing TechSpot.
The Japanese tech giant forecasts an operating profit of 1.38 trillion yen (approximately $9.4 billion) for the current fiscal year, an 8% increase year-over-year. However, Sony's Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao warned that existing tariffs on Chinese imports could reduce this figure by 100 billion yen (about $680 million), effectively flattening profit growth.
To offset these losses, Sony is considering passing costs on to consumers. While the PlayStation 5 wasn't specifically mentioned during the call, and Sony might try to maintain the console's current price point, the company did implement PS5 price increases in several regions in April - though notably, the PS5 Pro was unaffected by these changes.
Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki emphasized that relocating PlayStation 5 assembly to the United States could be "an effective strategy" if trade barriers persist. Currently, most PS5 components are still manufactured in China.
Earlier, Kazinform News Agency reported that China will reduce the additional tariffs on products imported from the United States from 34 percent to 10 percent.