According to a recent Bloomberg report, Apple has increased iPhone production in India, where it assembled more than $7 billion worth of iPhones in the most recent fiscal year. This has made India a key player in the global smartphone market. Amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, Apple has been actively looking for methods to lessen its reliance on China. Longtime business partners of the corporation, like Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., have rapidly increased the size of their assembly lines in recent months.
As a result, more than double the 1% anticipated in 2021, or about 7% of iPhones, are presently produced in India.
The difficulties faced by Apple at Foxconn’s primary “iPhone City” complex in Zhengzhou last year exposed the weaknesses in the company’s supply chain, leading Apple to look for alternatives. The incentives offered by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote local manufacturing remain ongoing.
Apple exported $5 billion worth of iPhones in the fiscal year that ended in March 2023, about four times as many as the year before. Additionally, rumours suggest that beginning in the fall of 2023, Apple may produce its upcoming iPhone models concurrently in China and India. By 2025, Apple might assemble 25% of all its iPhones in India if its suppliers’ ambitious expansion continues.
Apple had already acknowledged the need to diversify its supply chain prior to the iPhone City tragedy. In order to enhance local manufacture, the business fought for incentives in India and persuaded its suppliers, Foxconn, Wistron Corp., and Pegatron. These manufacturers produce a variety of iPhone models, from the iPhone 11 to the most recent iPhone 14, with a combined workforce of almost 60,000 people in India.
Due to its shift towards India, Apple is now at the forefront of that nation’s efforts to replace China as a key manufacturing base. India has achieved a big economic win with the relocation of iPhone manufacturing, which could have an impact on the marketing plans of other US companies.
Apple has sought revisions to India’s labour laws as part of its aim to increase local production and build mega factories. Its top contract manufacturer, Foxconn, is to spend close to $700 million on a facility in southern India that will make phone parts and possibly iPhones. There have been no comments from Foxconn, Wistron, or Pegatron representatives as of yet. Next week, Apple will debut its first two retail locations in India, one in Mumbai, a major financial centre, and the other in New Delhi, the country’s capital.
