India to make quarter of all iphones by 2028
Apple is building a network of local vendors, cutting inputs from China
Apple aims to broaden its production base in India, and targets to make a quarter of all its iphones in the country over the next 3–4 years as it builds a network of local vendors instead of sourcing inputs from Chinese suppliers.
People aware of the company’s plans told Mint that the Cupertino-headquartered tech giant has already begun work on building the supply chains even as the majority of its production will be undertaken by Foxconn Technology Group and Tata Electronics, which will scale up their manufacturing capacities as well.
“India is an important market for them. Till December 2023, they are already doing 14% of their total iphone production from India that is being supplied locally and for exports. They’re now planning to raise the levels to 24–25% by the end of 2027 or 2028,” one of the people said, asking not to be named as the discussions were private.
JP Morgan analysts had estimated in 2022 that a quarter of all Apple products would be made outside China by 2025, from 5% then. As of Fy24-end, about $14 billion worth of iphones were made in India, making up 14% of the global total. India produces iphone models 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract manufacturer and the largest one for Apple, accounts for the lion’s share of iphones made in India. Last year in October, Tata Electronics acquired Taiwanese iphone maker Wistron’s manufacturing unit in India, Wistron Infocomm Manufacturing (India) Pvt. Ltd, for $125 million. Tata Electronics currently makes a far smaller number of iphones, but intends to scale its manufacturing capacities. It is also in discussions to acquire Indian operations of another iphone maker Pegatron. The Taiwanese company has one existing iphone production plant and another under construction, in Tamil Nadu.
A second person aware of the discussions said that the acquisition may be completed within the next few months, which will give the Tata Group company significant foothold in the Apple supplier ecosystem. “It will make Tata the only Indian EMS (electronics manufacturing and services) player for Apple. With Tatas making their own chip fabrication and assembly units, supplies of chips to Apple can also be explored,” the person said, asking not to be identified.
“Apple makes roughly 200 million iphones a year. A quarter or 50 million iphones from India within three to four years seems steep, since the premiumization trend won’t last long. Even if it is 30 million units, it would be substantial, and it is the most likely candidate to cross ₹1 trillion revenue from India operations,” said Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst and founder at research firm Techarc.
Emails to Apple, Foxconn and Tata Electronics did not elicit a response till press time.
Analysts tracking Apple and the India market said that building a local ecosystem would be crucial for raising the production levels. Apple has been expanding its base of suppliers in India, which now includes Flex Ltd, Jabil Inc, Cheng Uei Precision Industry Company Limited (Foxlink), Interplex Holdings Pte. Ltd, Lingyi itech (Guangdong) Company, ON Semiconductor Corporation, Shenzhen YUTO Packaging Technology Company Limited, TDK Corp, Zhen Ding Technology Holding Limited, besides Tata Electronics and Foxconn.
A third person privy to the plans added that 40-100 suppliers would form part of the supply chains that Apple intends to create within India over the years. “While they have about 400 odd suppliers globally, not all would be able to come to India. They want to create local suppliers that can scale up and form an alternative supply system to China,” the person said, asking not to be named.