India is set to emerge as a major hub for iPhone manufacturing<\/a> as US smartphone giant Apple<\/a> looks to diversify production units outside China. Industry executives and analysts expect the percentage of locally made iPhones to rise to over a fifth of total output in value in the next three to four years, from the current 5% level.
According to industry executives and analysts, manufacturing in India for the Cupertino-based major is set to rise sharply as the company's three contract manufacturers - Foxconn<\/a>, Pegatron and Wistron - ramp up production and subsequently exports, driven by the government's Rs 41,000-crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
Apple<\/a> has been gradually working towards moving a larger pie of iPhone manufacturing<\/a> to India amid geopolitical tensions between China and the US. The company is said to have accelerated its plans to make the shift from China after Covid-induced lockdowns disrupted production at Foxconn<\/a> facilities in the country.
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Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, China is the largest manufacturing unit for iPhones in the world.
Apple didn't respond to ET's emailed queries.
Last month, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a tweet said Foxconn would accelerate the expansion of capacity at its India plant. \"As a result, iPhones made by Foxconn in India will grow by at least 150% on-year in 2023, and the medium\/long-term goal is to ship 40-45% of iPhones from India (versus the current 2-4%),\" Kuo said. ET had reported Kuo's estimates in its November 5 edition.
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Two people familiar with the matter said this estimate was not practical and that a more realistic estimate should be around 20%. \"It's (the move from China to India) a work in progress\", one of the people said. According to a report by JP Morgan (September 21, 2022), Apple plans to shift 25% of its iPhone production to India by 2025 in a bid to diversify its manufacturing base which is currently dependent heavily on China.
\"Our ability to attract global value chains (GVCs) in electronics manufacturing is more a factor of our policies like PLI than just favourable geopolitics. Competitiveness including on tariffs, preparedness to build large-scale factories and accompanying labour reforms and ensuring investment sentiment remains high at all times are key to our success,\" India Cellular and Electronics Association<\/a> (ICEA) chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said. \"It's a long haul,\" he added. Apple is a member of ICEA.
Apple produced smartphones worth $205 billion in its fiscal year ended September 2022. According to Counterpoint Research<\/a>, mainland China's contribution is gradually going down - to around 91.2-93.5% of global shipments in 2022, from 95.8% in 2021 and 98.2% in 2020. China remains the second-largest market for iPhones after the US.
A few years back, when US-China tensions were at its peak and companies including Apple were looking for an alternative to China, India launched its PLI scheme. The three big Apple contract manufacturers successfully applied for incentives under this scheme.
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