Apple Ships $6 Billion Worth of iPhone Models from India in Big China Shift
Apple’s iPhone exports from India rose by a third in the six months to September, underscoring its push to expand production in the country and reduce dependence on China.
The US company exported nearly $6 billion (about Rs. 50,451 crore) worth of Indian-made iPhones, up a third in value from a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named be mentioned because the information is private. . That puts annual exports on track to surpass around $10 billion (roughly Rs. 84,086 crore) in fiscal 2024.
Apple is rapidly expanding its manufacturing network in India, taking advantage of local subsidies, skilled labor and advances in the country’s technological capabilities. India is a crucial part of the company’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China, where risks have increased along with tensions between Beijing and the US.
Three of Apple’s suppliers – Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron, and its own Tata Electronics – assemble iPhones in southern India. Foxconn’s local unit, based in the outskirts of Chennai, is the largest supplier in India and accounts for half of the country’s iPhone exports.
The electronics manufacturing arm of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group exported about $1.7 billion (about Rs. 14,294 crore) worth of iPhones from its factory in Karnataka state from April to September, the people said. Tata acquired this device from Wistron Corp. last year. becoming the first Indian assembler of Apple’s best-selling product.
The dollar figure refers to the estimated factory value of the device, not the retail price. Apple representatives declined to comment. Pegatron also declined to comment, while spokespeople for Foxconn and Tata did not respond to requests for comment.
iPhones account for the bulk of India’s smartphone exports and have made the product category the largest export to the US at $2.88 billion (approximately Rs. 24,211 crore) in the first five months of this fiscal , according to data from the Federal Ministry of Commerce. Five years ago, before Apple expanded production in India, the country’s annual smartphone exports to the US were a measly $5.2 million (about Rs. 43.7 crore).
Yet Apple accounts for just under 7 percent of the Indian smartphone market, which is dominated by Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. And while there is still a small market for iPhones worldwide, Apple is making big strides.
Thanks to subsidies from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Apple was able to assemble its expensive iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models, with better cameras and titanium casings, in India this year. The company is also looking to open new stores, including in the southern tech hub of Bangalore and the western city of Pune.
Last year, CEO Tim Cook launched the first Apple stores in the financial center of Mumbai and the capital New Delhi.
The grand openings, the marketing blitz around the new stores, aggressive online sales and a fast-growing middle class that aspires to own Apple products have boosted annual sales in India to a record $8 billion (about Rs. 67,250 crore) in 2011. the year up to and including March.
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