NEW YORK: Apple Inc exported more than US$2.5bil (RM11bil) of iPhones from India from April to December, nearly twice the previous fiscal year’s total, underscoring how the US tech giant is accelerating a shift from China with geopolitical tensions on the rise.
Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp have each shipped more than US$1bil (RM4.4bil) of Apple’s marquee devices abroad in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2023, people familiar with the matter said.
Pegatron Corp, another major contract manufacturer for Apple, is on track to move about US$500mil (RM2.2bil) of the gadgets overseas by the end of January, the people said, asking not to be identified revealing private information.
Apple’s rapidly growing export numbers illustrate how it is ramping up operations outside of China, where chaos at Foxconn’s main plant in Zhengzhou exposed vulnerabilities in the Cupertino-headquartered company’s supply chain and forced it to trim output estimates.
That compounded a broader problem with evaporating demand for electronics as consumers weigh the risks of a global recession.
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, began assembling its latest iPhone models in India only last year, a significant break from its practice of reserving much of that for giant Chinese factories run by its main Taiwanese assemblers, including Foxconn.
While India makes up just a fraction of iPhone output, rising exports bode well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to make the country an alternative to China as a factory to the world.
China’s zero-Covid policies and an episode of violence at the Zhengzhou plant – nicknamed iPhone City as the world’s biggest production centre for the device – laid bare the dangers of relying on the country.
While Beijing has since dropped that approach to containing the virus, Apple and other global names are exploring alternative locations more than ever before.
India’s vast workforce, Modi’s support and a thriving local market make it a prime candidate to take on more electronics manufacturing.
Foxconn, Apple’s largest supplier, began building facilities in the country more than five years ago in anticipation of a need to extend its geographic range.
One recent selling point is a raft of new government incentives, a cornerstone of Modi’s drive to make India an electronics manufacturing hub.
Foxconn has won 3.6 billion rupees (US$44mil or RM193.5mil) of benefits in the first year of the so-called production-linked incentives scheme, while Wistron’s claims are currently being processed, the people said.
Representatives for Apple, Foxconn and Wistron didn’t respond to emails seeking comment. A Pegatron spokesperson declined to comment.
Apple’s contract manufacturers currently make iPhones at plants in southern India. But production in the country is just beginning.
About three million of the devices were made in India in 2021, compared with 230 million in China, according to Bloomberg Intelligence estimates.
Foxconn began making the iPhone 14 in India a few months ago – sooner than anticipated – after a surprisingly smooth production rollout that slashed the lag between Chinese and Indian output from months to mere weeks. — Bloomberg
