Apple has informed the government about its plans to make most of its products in India and that it will establish an ecosystem of partners, which include contract manufacturers and suppliers. The iPhone SE might be the first Indian made iPhone model as Apple is believed to start with the local production of this model.
“Apple plans to move up the value chain, in their next phase, in terms of producing the entire suite of products, definitely all iPhone models, for which their entire ecosystem of partners need to move in. “, informed IT secretary Aruna Sundararajan.
Apple’s main contract Manufacturers like Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron and Inventec are closely monitoring the situation to make an informed decision.
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“Apple has two primary conditions – one that they should be able to import the components that they need, and second that it should be cheaper for them to manufacture here than to import,” she added.
“The second question is where the government has yet not taken a view because this is to be decided only after the GST is finalized.”
“Apple’s largest contract manufacturer Foxconn is reported to be in active talks with the Maharashtra Government, with which the company already has a $5 billion investment pact,” informed a senior manufacturing executive. “It may well be a three- four way game between Foxconn, Wistron,
“It may well be a three- four way game between Foxconn, Wistron, Pegatron and Inventec — two of them are already in India, “the person added.
A query to Wistron, which is responsible for the manufacture of iPhone 5S and the SE, on whether it will set up a separate, much larger plant for Apple was unanswered. Some reports suggest Wistron will manufacture iPhone SE at its Bengaluru facility.
An Apple spokesperson said,” We have been working hard to develop our operations in India and are proud to deliver the best products and services in the world to our customers here. We appreciate the constructive and open dialogue we have had with the government about further expanding our local operations.”
Sundararajan also informed that her department has met several contract manufacturing firms from the Southeast Asia looking to set up shops in India.
“It’s a question of when not whether ,” she said.