MUMBAI – Foxconn, Apple’s Taiwanese manufacturer, began assembling the iPhone 11 series at its Chennai plant in southern India as part of an offer by the U.S. generation giant to diversify production beyond China.
The iPhone 11 models assembled in India have just reached retail outlets in the South Asian country from approximately Rs 63,800 ($850). Analysts expect Apple to reduce costs closer to the peak that Indians buy.
As the protracted industrial war between the United States and China intensifies, Apple wants to expand its iPhone source chain, which has concentrated heavily on China. The iPhone 11 was first introduced in September 2019.
“The iPhone 11 assembled in India will also be exported, according to existing cell phone models,” a source close to the matter told Nikkei Asian Review on condition of anonymity.
Foxconn’s Unit in Chennai assembles the iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, while the iPhone 7 is assembled in Bangalore via Wistron, Apple’s other key supplier, the source said.
Details of iPhone 11’s production volumes or exports are known. Apple’s local unit responded to a request for comment.
Counterpoint Research estimated that 29% of Apple’s smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 in India arrived here from domestic production facilities, while the number fell to 17% in the current quarter. Apple exported about 400,000 iPhones in the first quarter, basically to European countries, the study company said.
On the domestic sales front, Apple has been trying to enter the Indian market for more than two years, attracted by the accumulation of disposable revenue. Making phones in India saves you 20% of import tariffs, thus expanding your competitiveness in a market governed by South Korean rival Samsung Electronics and Chinese smartphone brands OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.
Prachir Singh, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, believes that assembling the iPhone 11 in India is a component of Apple’s plan to move 20% of production volumes to India.
This plan helped through the “Indian government production program,” Prachir said. In the long term, India is a lucrative market for all value segments, due to its millennial developing population and emerging income. Currently, from 10,000 to 15,000 rupees is the ideal point [for a smartphone], however, the average promotion value has increased. over the years, ” he added.
Apple has started assembling older iPhones in India on the local Wistron drive in 2017. Its production services in India have recently come with the Foxconn plant in Chennai and the two Wistron sites in Bangalore. Flex Singapore and Salcomp from Finland supply phone chargers.
Apple has stopped meeting the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s in 2019.
New Delhi is willing to help Apple and other global brands use India not only as a production hub, but also as an export hub. He contacted global corporations to move their bases from China.
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