Apple Aims To Ramp Up iPhone Production In India To Over 50 Mn Units Annually

Global smartphone major Apple is reportedly planning to manufacture more than 50 Mn iPhones in India annually, as it looks to double down on production in the country as part of its efforts to reduce reliance on China.

Apple aims to meet the target within the next two to three years, with additional tens of millions of units planned to be produced in the following years, the Wall Street Journal reported.

This comes at a time when the tech giant is scouting for Indian, Japanese and South Korean suppliers which can provide critical components to its contract manufacturers in India. 

According to an Economic Times report, Apple is looking for equipment like batteries, camera lens, chargers and others required to make its flagship iPhones and iPads in India. 

This comes after the Indian government delayed approvals to import above-mentioned equipment from the existing suppliers, majorly of Chinese origin. 

In January, nearly 17 Chinese companies that supply components for Apple devices applied for clearances to set up manufacturing facilities in India, which have been put on hold by the government.

Of the suppliers, Sunny Optical Technology Group and Han’s Laser Technology Industry Group are camera lens makers, Luxshare-ICT is airpod maker and ON Semiconductor Shenzhen China is a capacitor chip maker. 

A separate Bloomberg report on Friday (December 8) said that Tata Group is reportedly planning to set up one of the largest  iPhone assembly plant in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur. The new facility by Tata is expected to house about 20 assembly lines and employ 50,000 workers within the next two years. 

Last month, ET reported that Apple plans to produce iPhones worth INR 1 Lakh Cr in India by the end of March 2024. The tech giant has already scaled up manufacturing capacity, achieving production of over INR 60,000 Cr during the first seven months of the fiscal year. 

Apple’s business in India has been a matter of discussion for some time now. Earlier in April, the Cupertino-based company was reported to be producing about 7% of its iPhones in India now, as against a mere 1% in 2021. In fact, of the iPhones produced in India last fiscal year, $5 Bn worth of smartphones were exported, the report said citing sources.

However, Apple recently said that the production of iPhones in India may be impacted if India mandates the European Union law about universal charging points for all smartphones. Though other smartphone makers including Samsung have agreed to comply with India’s plan, Apple is resisting the move.

Yet another brief tension between the Indian government and the smartphone maker broke out when members of Parliament from the opposition party claimed that they received alerts on their iPhones against state sponsored attackers.