The iPhone is the apple of people’s eye and India is a huge market. No doubt that the California headquarted Apple Inc. is all set to expand its roots in India. It wants to make 1 in 4 phones in India and increase production to over $40 billion in the next 4-5 years. In simple terms, it wants to move 25% of all iPhone manufacturing to India by 2025.
In the last fiscal year, Apple crossed the $7 billion production mark, showcasing its growing manufacturing progress in the country. Tata wants to build the country’s biggest iPhone assembly plant in Tamil Nadu. It already owns an iPhone manufacturing plant in Karnataka- which is acquired from Wistron the previous year- which has partnered with Apple to launch 100 retail stores for its products across the country. Tata aims to employ around 50,000 workers within the next two years.
The launch of the iPhone 15 the previous year was a key milestone for Apple’s India manufacturing plans as it was the first time that the latest iPhone model shipped globally from both Indian and Chinese factories at launch. For the first time, Apple made available the ‘made in India’ iPhones on the same day it started selling the devices in other parts of the globe.
Apple’s move into manufacturing iPhones in India may also be due to the country’s import tariffs on electronics, which are so high. The base model of the iPhone 14 costs $799 in the U.S. at launch and 79,900 Rupees in India ($980) almost 23% more.
Apple’s decision is linked to government incentives to invite more foreign companies to expand operations in the country which will help to boost India’s GDP. Apple already manufactures the iPhone 13, iPhone12 and iPhone SE in India with partners like Foxconn and Pegatron.
Apple’s impressive performance in India’s manufacturing landscape has been facilitated by government incentives, including the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphone manufacturing. India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hailed Apple as “another success story” in India’s push to become a global manufacturing hub.
Apple opened its first retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi the previous year. The company is also planning to launch new stores in India by 2025.
As Apple continues to invest in India’s manufacturing ecosystem, it not only serves its business interests but also contributes to India’s emergence as a global manufacturing powerhouse.
