Apple supplier Foxconn is set to build a new $700 million USD plant in India to boost production in the country as the company seeks to move more manufacturing away from China in the wake of repeated COVID-19 lockdowns at its Chinese facilities and worsening U.S.-China relations — reports Bloomberg.
Foxconn is Apple’s largest supplier, responsible for assembling the majority of the company’s global iPhone supply. According to sources familiar with the developments, Foxconn plans to build the new factory in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on a 300-acre site close to the city’s airport.
The news follows a December 2022 report that suggested Apple wants to triple iPhone production in India over the next two years. Days before the report in question surfaced, Foxconn invested another $500 million in its Indian subsidiary to increase its local production capacity.
Late last year, Foxconn’s 200,000-worker “iPhone City” plant in Zhengzhou, China, went into a protracted COVID-19 lockdown that led to violent worker protests and a mass exodus of employees.
Apple was ultimately left with a major supply deficit of flagship iPhone models in the company’s all-important holiday quarter and has since been rethinking its China-reliant supply chain. The tech giant is reportedly urging suppliers to diversify their production efforts beyond the Asian manufacturing hub.
While a September 2022 report indicated that it would take Apple eight years to relocate just 10% of its production from China, the company appears to be accelerating the move and it may happen sooner than expected.
Foxconn already produces Apple’s latest iPhone models in India. Per sources, the Taiwanese company could manufacture both iPhones and components for its budding electric vehicle business at the planned Karnataka plant. However, it’s unclear at this point if the new factory is meant to add more production capacity or move existing output from China.
According to a recent report, Apple could eventually move 25% of its global iPhone production to India by 2025. In addition to India, Apple is also eyeing Vietnam and Indonesia as alternative production sites for its products.
