India Starts Exporting Apple Components To China, Vietnam: Report

Tech giant Apple’s suppliers from India have reportedly started exporting electronic components of MacBooks, AirPods, Watch, Pencil and iPhones to China and Vietnam for the first time.

The suppliers include Motherson Group, Jabil, Aequs and Tata Electronics, who manufacture mechanics from scratch, including the enclosures for all of Apple’s gadgets except iPads, ET reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report further said that these components are shipped to international locations for assembling and utilised in making the finished product.

“In its bid to deepen domestic value addition and build a local ecosystem (in India), Apple is expanding domestic procurement beyond iPhone and its key components,” one of the sources was quoted as saying in the report.

“That is why the company has initiated this massive initiative to make mechanics, particularly enclosures, for its products,” the source added.

This development reflects the tech giant’s commitment to diversifying its supply chain across the globe. Apple’s suppliers such as Foxconn and Jabil, on the other hand, have been expanding their plants in various locations in India throughout the past year.

Earlier this month, iPhone components manufacturer Murata Manufacturing was considering shifting some of its production capacity to India on the back of growing demand for multilayer ceramic capacitors in the country.

Furthermore, reports revealed that Apple surpassed INR 1 lakh Cr mark in iPhone exports from India in 2024, with total shipments reaching a record $12.8 Bn (around INR 1.08 Lakh Cr), marking a 42% increase from the previous year.

Domestic production also saw a dramatic increase of nearly 46% year-on-year to reach $17.5 Bn (INR 1.48 Lakh Cr) in 2024.

To note, Apple has also begun assembling the newly launched iPhone 16e locally through its contract manufacturers in India for domestic users while exporting it to other countries, a few days ago.