Apple choosing India over China gives billions in iPhone production

Apple’s manufacturing diversification away from China and into India is paying up with significant efficiency for the world’s largest technology company. The total value of iPhones assembled by Apple in India between March 2022 and March 2023 is reported to be more than $7 billion (over 573 crore). The company has managed to triple its production during this period in India, Bloomberg reported.

Of the total production, Apple exported $5 billion of iPhones in the year ended March 2023, nearly four times as much as the previous period, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying. 

The company now makes almost 7 per cent of its iPhones in India. With partners such as Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., Apple has been able to establish and amplify its manufacturing base in the world’s fifth largest economy. 

India accounted for just 1 per cent of iPhones produced in 2021. Apple could assemble a quarter of all its iPhones in India by 2025, the report added. 

Apple is looking for ways to reduce its dependence on China as tensions between the United States and Beijing continue to escalate. Last year, the company struggled with lockdown at Foxconn’s ‘iPhone city’ manufacturing unit in Zhengzhou, which forced workers away and exposed vulnerabilities in Apple’s supply chain.

Not just iPhones but for production of any goods within India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has announced Production Linked Incentives (PLis), which ultimately reduce the net production cost for companies setting up new manufacturing units in India. The move is aimed to boost local manufacturing.

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Apple is now placed at the heart of India’s ambitions to become a major manufacturing hub and alternative to China. 

The scale of iPhone production represents an economic triumph for India. This may have further implications for how foreign brands plan their manufacturing strategies. 

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