Apple Wants to Triple iPhone Manufacturing Capacity in India: Report

Apple wants to triple its iPhone output in India over the next two years, according to a report from local media outlet Mint (via MacRumors).

Per the publication, an unidentified “senior industry executive” said that “[Apple is] looking to scale up the volumes that they make from India. It can rise by more than three times what they aim to make this year.”

Another executive added that Apple is urging three of its biggest suppliers — Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron — to hire more workers and boost production capacity in the country.

The news comes days after Apple’s largest supplier, Foxconn, disclosed a $500 million USD investment in its Indian operation to increase production.

Apple has been planning to diversify its supply chain for months now, spurred on by its dependence on China leading to production bottlenecks amidst COVID-19 slowdowns at Chinese factories and rising geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing.

According to a recent report, Apple is accelerating these plans in light of recent production disruptions caused by worker unrest at the largest iPhone factory in the world, operated by Foxconn in Zhengzhou, China.

Production deficits at the Zhengzhou plant have crippled Apple’s supply of this year’s flagship iPhone, the iPhone 14 Pro, in the all-important holiday quarter. In the U.S., delivery wait times for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have slipped well past Christmas.

India is among Apple’s top picks for supply chain expansion, alongside Vietnam, South Korea, and even Thailand. Apple’s suppliers already have a manufacturing presence in India. While the country previously used to assemble older iPhone models, it graduated to manufacturing Apple’s latest and greatest, the iPhone 14 series, as well earlier this year.

Back in October, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo speculated that Apple would shift more of its iPhone and Mac production from China to India. In addition, a report last week claimed that the tech giant will also relocate some iPad production to India.

According to a September report, Apple could eventually move 25% of its global iPhone production to India by 2025.