Exports of India-made iPhones top $1 billion in five months

Exports of India-made iPhones topped US$1 billion in five months (since April), as India seeking to challenge neighbor China as manufacturing hub, reports Bloomberg.

At the current rate, outbound shipments of India-made iPhones, mainly to Europe and the Middle East, are set to reach $2.5 billion in the 12 months through March 2023, the article adds, quoting unnamed sources. That’s almost double the $1.3 billion worth of iPhones India exported in the year through March 2022, those sources say.

“The healthy growth in Apple’s manufacturing scale and export shows India is gradually assuming an important position in the company’s China plus one strategy,” Navkendar Singh, an analyst at tech researcher IDC, told Bloomberg. “And for India, this a big sign of the success of its financial incentives scheme.”

J.P. analysts predict that Apple may move a quarter of its iPhone production to India by 2025, according to Reuters. The tech giant is moving some production out of China amid “mounting geopolitical tensions and strict COVID-19 lockdowns in the country,” the article adds.

Currently, about 5% of Apple’s products are manufactured in India, Vietnam, and other locations. Last month it was announced that Apple plans to begin manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India about two months after the product’s initial release out of China.