Apple’s India plants are expected to contribute 5 to 7 per cent of the company’s global shipments of iPhones this year as the tech giant will manufacture nearly 11-12 million iPhones in the country, The Economic Times reported on Tuesday.
Market trackers told the newspaper that the tech giant’s three manufacturers in India would meet 85 per cent of the local demand for iPhone, touching record highs in 2022.
India, in 2021, contributed a little over 3 per cent to the global shipments of iPhones, as the number was less than 1.5 per cent in 2020. On the other hand, China contributed 95.8 per cent to international shipments of iPhones in 2021 and 98.2 per cent in 2020. However, according to Counterpoint Research, China’s contribution is expected to drop to 93.5 per cent this year.
This comes as Apple and other US tech companies are looking to expand their manufacturing footprint outside China amid increased geopolitical tension and supply chain disruptions due to Covid-19.
“In India, over 7.5 million iPhones were made last year; we expect a sharp rise in local production of iPhones,” Saynam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys, told ET. He said, “The company is also gearing up to produce the iPhone 14 locally, beginning production much sooner than the older generation iPhones launch dates.”
As Apple will unveil the iPhone 14 series in its ‘Far Out’ event on September 7, Foxconn, one of the tech giant’s contract manufacturers in India, is expected to make a small batch of the upcoming range, according to noted Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo.
