NEW DELHI: In a significant development for the domestic mobile manufacturing sector, US tech giant Apple reportedly assembled $14 billion worth iPhones in India during financial year 2023-2024.
This constitutes 14% of Apple’s global iPhone production, meaning one in seven of its devices are now manufactured in the country.
The move reflects Apple’s strategy to diversify its production base away from China due to geopolitical tensions between the US and the world’s second largest economy.
Last year, commerce minister Piyush Goyal mentioned that Apple would start 25% of the total iPhone production in India by 2025. The company began manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 and has since scaled up production. Currently, Apple is assembling iPhones ranging from the legacy 12 to its latest iPhone 15 in the country, but not the higher-spec Pro and Pro Max models.
In India, the iPhone is manufactured by three contract manufacturers: Foxconn, Pegatron Corp., and Tata Group (formerly Wistron Corp.). According to the report, Foxconn is the biggest manufacturer as it assembles nearly 67%, while Pegatron Corp. makes about 17% of the India-made iPhones.
The surge in production also means that Apple will increase exports from India. According to the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association, India’s mobile phone exports are expected to cross `1.2 lakh crore at the end of this financial year, led by Apple and Samsung. Now, mobile phones have become India’s fifth-largest export as an individual commodity.
Last year, India’s conglomerate Tata Group acquired Taiwan’s Wistron plant in Karnataka. The company is also in talks to take control of another iPhone manufacturing facility owned by Pegatron in the country.
Tata plans to hold at least a 65% stake in a joint venture that will operate the Pegatron plant near Chennai. Tata, one of the largest conglomerates in India, will operate the joint venture through its Tata Electronics unit.