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As the heat is increasing, companies making large room air conditioners are increasing prices in the range of 5-15 percent to reduce the continuously rising raw material costs and supply chain expenses. The increase, which occurred between February and April, is just before the summer peak season, when demand typically increases. Major companies like Daikin, Voltas, Blue Star, LG, Haier and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have announced hike in their models due to higher input costs of essential raw materials like copper, weak rupee, new energy-efficiency norms and increase in freight costs. Industry executives said that while adjustments are necessary, they expect a good pace of sales this year, helped by warmer expectations and better energy savings from new star-rated models.

Daikin India increased by 12 percent

Daikin India Chairman and Managing Director Kanwaljit Java said that the company is going to increase the prices by up to 12 percent from April, and the price increase will depend on model-to-model. He said that new energy norms have come, due to which the products have become more efficient. Additionally, prices of materials such as copper have increased; The US dollar (against the Indian rupee) is at an all-time high. Additionally, there are a lot of uncertainties due to global turmoil, and freight costs have also increased, making imports (of components) expensive.

Therefore there is no other option. Java further said that there is no way to avoid this, and every player in the industry has increased the prices. When asked whether this increase will affect the sales of room air conditioners this year too, he said that we expect very hot weather in 2026. At least it should reach the level of 2024, when the industry had made record sales. I think there should be at least 15 percent growth this year.

Blue Star also increased the price

Blue Star Managing Director B Thiagarajan said that the company has already increased the prices by 8-10 percent in the middle of February. However, old priced inventory is still in the market, so there is not much difference in the market. He said dealers picked up the stock in advance because the price was about to increase. They bought early, so they will sell the old stock. He further said that the new batch with higher price will take some time to reach the market. 2025 was not a good year for the room air conditioner industry, as sales were affected due to unseasonal rains and other reasons. The industry had shown very good growth a year before that, in 2024, when there was intense heat in many parts of the country.

Voltas will also increase prices

According to experts, there will be tough competition in the Indian room air conditioner segment this year, where makers will compete to increase market share after negative growth in 2025. Voltas, a Tata Group firm and market leader, is also going to increase the prices of its room air conditioners by 5-15 percent, due to which the burden of increased cost of raw materials and other items will fall on the consumers. Mukundan Menon, managing director of Voltas, said that in the last few months, input costs have been rising continuously due to rising copper prices, weak rupee and implementation of new energy-efficiency standards. To ensure that we continue to provide our customers with high-quality, energy-efficient air conditioners, we will make modest and carefully calibrated price adjustments in the range of 5-15 percent during the year.

LG Electronics India also made AC expensive

Similarly, with the new energy norms, LG Electronics India has also "increased ACs by about 7 per cent for 3-star models and by about 9-10 per cent for 5-star models. These energy efficient ACs offer about 11 per cent better efficiency, helping customers save on electricity bills over time, even if Input costs like copper and aluminum remain high compared to last year, and the reduction in GST from 28% to 18% has largely offset this extra cost, making it easier for customers to switch to more energy efficient ACs.

Higher India also increased

This year, the new revised star rating of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has come into effect from January 1. Now, a new 5-star room air conditioner is 10 percent more energy efficient under the new revised BEE norms. Higher India President N S Satish said that it has also increased the prices by 5 to 8 percent. He said that we are increasing the prices by 5 percent for 3-star models and about 8 percent for 5-star products. Also said that this increase will be applicable from March. Regarding sales this year, Satish said that they have started picking up from last week as the temperature has started rising. They also expect better sales this year than 2024.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries also increased prices

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the global leader in advanced air-conditioning solutions, has also increased the prices of its ACs by 5 per cent, said its director Pradeep Bakshi. According to Bakshi, the prices are increasing due to the weakening of the Indian rupee against the US dollar. The room air conditioner market is estimated at around 13.5 million units, in which players like Voltas, LG, Daikin, Blue Star, Hitachi, Panasonic and Lloyd compete.