While Apple’s iPhone 15 series has just entered the market, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that India may begin the production of the iPhone 17 by the second half of 2024. He indicates that the new product is scheduled for launch by 2025, with India poised to be the first country in the world to commence its manufacturing, ahead of all others.
The Apple vendors Foxconn, Pegatron, and now the Tata Group, are expected to begin with the production of the product, according to a report by Economic Times.
Such possibilities are attributed to the political tensions between the US and China. According to Kuo, Apple is planning to scale down its operations with Foxconn in Zhenghzhou and Taiyuan in China by 35-45% and 75-85% respectively by 2024.
“If all goes well, the proportion of iPhones made in India will increase to 20–25% by 2024,” Kuo said.
This is believed to be a strategic move by the smartphone maker to diversify its supply chain.
Kuo also noted that Luxshare’s substantial increase in iPhone order allocation and enhancements in its production lines are significant factors in Apple’s decision.
He explained that for the production of the iPhone 17 series, Apple has selected the standard iPhone model to streamline the design and mitigate potential design risks. Kuo mentioned that currently, India accounts for 12%-14% of Apple’s global iPhone shipments, with Foxconn responsible for 75-80% of this production.
Speaking on Tata’s acquisition of Wistron’s manufacturing unit, Kuo said that this move could fortify Apple’s relationship with the Indian government, thereby accelerating the company’s expansion in India and streamlining the manufacturing processes for its other products as well.
Wistron was struggling since the employee protests at its manufacturing unit in the Karnataka plant, against low wage payment and no overtime payment. The company suffered a loss of about $7 Mn in the unit.
Following this, Tata Group was in talks to take over the plant and commence iPhone manufacturing, which finally concluded in October. With this, Tata became the first Indian manufacturing company to make iphones.
Apple has set high goals for the company in India. The localisation of the manufacturing process has started showing signs of growth already. During the first week of the festive season sale this year, iPhone sales crossed the 1.5 Mn units mark.
Meanwhile, Apple’s India business revenues in FY23 marked an increase of 48% from INR 33.3K Cr ($4.03 Bn) in FY22
Additionally, other vendors of Apple including Foxconn and Pegatron have also ramped up production processes at their respective units in India.
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