According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Apple’s Taiwanese contract manufacturer, Foxconn, will begin assembling the brand new model iPhone 11 in Chennai, which is located in southern India.
This big move by the leading mobile device company is to further expand its production away from China.
The iPhone 11, which was launched back in September of 2019, is the latest model for the U.S. Tech Giant Apple, and the units that are assembled in India will be sold at various retail stores around the country, starting at ₹63,800 (rupees) which is equivalent to about S$1,173 or $852.
Apple is hoping to lower their prices eventually in order to be more competitive in India. This will allow them to cater to the lower price levels that the locals are used to. And by manufacturing the mobile phones in India, it allows a 20 per cent savings on import duties as well.
These particular savings make iPhone units much more budget-friendly for Indians who otherwise prefer to buy the South Korean made Samsung or other Chinese brands that include Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus and Vivo.
According to the asia.nikkei.com report, iPhone 11 isn’t the only model that Foxconn is manufacturing. The Chennai location is also assembling the iPhone XR. Meanwhile, the iPhone 7 model began production in 2017 by Wistron, another local supplier located in Bangalore, while they’ve stopped making the SE and 6s models back in 2019.
Although the mobile units manufactured in India have yet to be exported, around 29 per cent of the company’s shipments in India for the first quarter of 2020 all came from local facilities. By the second quarter, it moved down to 17 per cent, yet the actual number of iPhone units made in India isn’t actually known.
An anonymous source of Nikkei Asian Review shared, “The India-assembled iPhone 11 is also being considered for export, in line with the already existing mobile phone models.”
Due to the U.S.-China trade war that is currently ongoing, Apple has since decided to disperse its manufacturing to other areas rather than in China, which is where most of the assemblage is at the moment.
Eventually, Apple plans to move at least 20 per cent of their production to India. This will include the present locations at Foxconn’s Chennai plant and the two other Wistron plants in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Singapore and Finland also have factories that provide Apple with their handsets as well. / TISG