Apple reportedly wants India to account for up to 25% of its production

Apple wants India to account for up to 25% of its production, increasing from about 5%-7% currently, the trade minister said at a conference on Monday, reports Reuters (a subscription is required to read the entire article).

Shri Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of commerce and industry, also did not specify what devices he expects Apple to produce in the country. However, his comments fit with a previous report that Apple is likely to triple its production of iPhones assembled in India over the next two year, according to Mint.

The article quotes an unnamed “senior industry executive as saying: ”[Apple is] looking to scale up the volumes that they make from India. It can rise by more than three times what they aim to make this year.” Mint also cites a second executive who said Apple has instructed Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron, three of its biggest suppliers, to increase their capacity and manpower in the country.

Speaking of Foxconn, Apple’s biggest contractor has invested US$500 million in its Indian subsidiary, as the Taiwanese manufacturing giant moves ahead to diversify its supply chain after China’s stringent pandemic controls disrupted production at its top iPhone plant in the central city of Zhengzhou, reports The South China Morning Post.

The article notes that the cash injection into Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Limited, made through Foxconn’s Singapore unit Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd, involved the purchase of over 4 billion shares, according to a filing on Thursday to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

In November 2022 Reuters reported that Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in India over two years. The article said this points to “a production adjustment as it faces disruptions in China.”