Pegatron Corp, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer for Apple Inc, has started constructing the company’s latest iPhone 14 model in India. This makes Pegatron the second Apple supplier to create the iPhone 14 in the country, according to people familiar with the situation who declined to be identified because the manufacturing plan is not public.
It comes after officials imposed an unexpected Covid-19 shutdown on Apple’s main iPhone Pro manufacturing base in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, which is operated by Foxconn Technology Group. This incident highlighted Apple’s reliance on China, while the India expansion was in accordance with diversification plans already in place, according to the people.
Foxconn began manufacturing the iPhone 14 in India in September, just weeks after its global debut and far closer to the commencement of production in China, where the vast bulk of iPhones are still manufactured. Apple’s primary manufacturing partner retains exclusivity on the iPhone Pro models, which it assembles in Zhengzhou.
The Pegatron factory in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state, which employed over 7,000 people at the end of September, also started producing iPhone 12 phones earlier this year. Apple’s entry-level devices are typically ordered via Pegatron.
India Redington, an iPhone reseller, has soared since Foxconn’s difficulties became public.
Based in Cupertino, California Apple is looking for alternate manufacturing hubs in the midst of a trade conflict between Washington and Beijing, as well as strict enforcement of Xi Jinping’s Covid Zero policy in China. Simultaneously, New Delhi is portraying India as a rival to China’s industrial capabilities. Since Foxconn’s coronavirus troubles surfaced last week, the worth of local Apple dealer Redington has risen.
One key impediment to greater production migrating out of China is that the majority of iPhone components are still manufactured in China and must be sent to wherever devices are assembled, according to Counterpoint senior analyst Ivan Lam.
All of Apple’s major Taiwanese suppliers, including Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron Corp, have increased iPhone assembly in India, aided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial incentives scheme. This has also contributed to a rise in South Asian iPhone exports.
After a years-long effort to acquire manufacturing capabilities in the nation, Apple began building iPhones in India via Wistron in 2017. While India is still a minor consumer market for Apple, the country of 1.4 billion people offers the US conglomerate significant growth potential as incomes and internet access rise.
