Apple’s India story
Apple began manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017. And this year, iPhone sales in India nearly doubled in June 2022 quarter over the previous year.
In September, credit rating agency Moody's said the manufacturing of iPhone 14 in India within weeks of the global launch demonstrates the maturity of Apple's manufacturing capabilities in the country. "Apple's plan to manufacture iPhone 14 products in India is credit positive because it will diversify its manufacturing base that is highly concentrated in China," Raj Joshi, senior vice president, corporate finance group, Moody's said.
A Bloomberg report suggests that at the current rate, outbound shipments of India-made iPhones, particularly to Europe and the Middle East, will be worth $2.5 billion in the 12 months to March 2023. This means the net value of the iPhones produced locally will double from $1.3 billion through March 2022.
New players
The race to manufacture iPhones in India has heated up over the past six months with big names such as Vedanta and Tatas entering the fray.
Recently, Vedanta announced it would set up a hub to manufacture iPhones and television equipment in Maharashtra. The mining giant will hold a 60% stake in the joint venture while Taiwanese chip maker Foxconn will own the remaining 40%.
Apple Inc has also asked its suppliers to move some AirPods and Beats headphone production to India for the first time, the Nikkei newspaper had reported.