Foxconn Technology Group, Apple’s top iPhone supplier, is considering expanding its production three-fold to India—joining Apple’s efforts to diversify production away from China.
Key Details
- Foxconn is currently in the process of expanding its production capacity in India through a series of expansions and new facilities.
- Its existing facility in Chennai will expand to produce 20 million iPhones per year by 2024, expanding from its current capacity of 6 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- The company could also open two or three new plants in South Karnataka and Hyderabad, further increasing its iPhone production capacity, silicon carbide fabrication capacity, and semiconductor packaging.
Why It’s Important
Following continued tensions between the U.S. and China and a supply-chain breakdown during the holiday season last year, Apple and its supplier companies are continuing to invest in new production facilities in India and Vietnam to reduce the company’s total reliance on the communist nation. Foxconn would be joining other Apple suppliers, such as GoerTek Inc., in expanding outside mainland China.
Violent protests at the iPhone production facility in Zhengzhou, China, due in part to the country’s aggressive former Zero-COVID policy, have only sped up Apple’s urgency in securing a more robust supply chain. However, the company doesn’t appear to be planning to divest from mainland China fully.
This push has been warmly received by the Indian government, which has worked to incentivize global interest in turning the country into a center for manufacturing and job creation. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal proudly bragged in January that Apple plans to move about 25% of its production to its nation. However, there is some disagreement from analysts regarding how quickly Apple can or wants to divest.
Notable Quote
“Foxconn will continue to communicate with local governments to seek the most beneficial development opportunities for the company and all stakeholders,” says Foxconn Chair Young Liu, who visited with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week during a tour of Bengaluru and Hyderabad.