India On Track To Manufacture 50% Of The World's iPhones By 2027: Report

The US-based tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to increase its iPhone production in India. A new report from South China Morning Post suggests that iPhone production in India could rise to 50 per cent by 2027, up from fewer than 5 per cent at present.

According to a forecast by Luke Lin, an analyst at the research unit of Taiwan’s DigiTimes newspaper, in the South China Morning Post, the speed of supply chain migration to India will be accelerated in the future because of the “need to diversify risks in light of uncertainties in China’s pandemic control.” He expected India and Vietnam to be “the biggest beneficiaries” of Apple’s efforts to shift more of its manufacturing supply chain outside China.

China, where up to 85 per cent of iPhones globally were produced last year, is at risk of losing its dominant role as a manufacturing hub for Apple devices because of US-China decoupling moves, according to Lin.

China’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 disrupted production of Apple products, particularly the iPhone, when Foxconn’s biggest assembly plant was shut due to a Covid-19 outbreak last November in Zhengzhou. This led to Apple issue a rare warning that shipments would be delayed just ahead of the holiday season.

However, China continues to remain a key market for Apple with strong sales growth. Reports also suggest that Apple will begin simultaneous production for the iPhone 15 series in China and India.

In related news, Tata Group is looking to fulfil its ambitions of making iPhones in India with a reported deal to takeover plant in South India close to being finalised. Once the deal goes through, Apple will finally have a local supplier for iPhones, in addition to the support provided by Foxconn and Wistron in the country for iPhone production.

According to a Bloomberg report released earlier this month, Tata Group has been talking to Wistron for its plant and wants to wrap up the deal by March this year, sources quoted in the report said Tata Group has considered a joint partnership with Wistron for iPhone production, but now would prefer to own the plant and use Wistron’s production expertise to make iPhones for the Indian market, the report added.

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