Apple’s iPhone exports from India rose by a third in the six months to September, underscoring India’s efforts to expand manufacturing in the country and reduce dependence on China.
U.S. companies exported nearly $6 billion in Indian-made iPhones, an increase of one-third from a year ago, according to people familiar with the matter. The information was disclosed on condition of anonymity as the information is not public. As a result, annual export value is expected to exceed approximately $10 billion in fiscal 2024.
Apple is rapidly expanding its manufacturing network in India, leveraging local subsidies, skilled labor and advances in Indian technology. India is a key part of the company’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China, a risk that has increased with tensions between China and the United States.
Three of Apple’s suppliers, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., and local Tata Electronics, assemble iPhones in southern India. Foxconn’s local unit, based outside Chennai, is India’s largest supplier and accounts for half of the country’s iPhone exports.
The electronics manufacturing unit of salt and software conglomerate Tata Group exported about $1.7 billion worth of iPhones from its Karnataka factory between April and September, the people said. Tata acquired the unit from Wistron last year, making it India’s first assembler of Apple’s best-selling products.
This dollar figure refers to the device’s estimated factory price, not the retail price. An Apple representative declined to comment. Pegatron also declined to comment, while Foxconn and Tata spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.
iPhones account for the bulk of India’s smartphone exports, helping the product category become the top exporter to the US at $2.88 billion in the first five months of this fiscal year, according to data from the Union Trade Ministry. . Five years before Apple expanded its manufacturing in India, the country’s annual smartphone exports to the US were just $5.2 million.
Still, Apple has just under 7% of the Indian smartphone market, which is dominated by Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo. And while the iPhone market is still small globally, Apple is making a big bet.
Thanks to subsidies from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Apple was able to assemble its more expensive iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models in India this year, which feature better cameras and titanium bodies. The company is also looking to open new retail stores in cities such as the southern tech hub of Bangalore and the western city of Pune.
Last year, CEO Tim Cook opened Apple’s first stores in the financial capital of Mumbai and the capital, New Delhi.
India’s annual sales hit a record high in the year ending in March, driven by grand openings, a marketing push for new stores, an aggressive push to sell online and a rapidly growing middle class that wants to own Apple products. It was pushed to $8 billion.
Apple’s rising star in India stands in contrast to the company’s sluggish fortunes in China, where the economy has stagnated following strict coronavirus lockdowns and a property crisis. Indeed, Apple relies on China for much of its manufacturing and sales, and India is unlikely to become its largest market anytime soon.
Apple assembled $14 billion worth of iPhones in India in the fiscal year ending March 2024, doubling production and accelerating efforts to diversify beyond China. Of that amount, it exported about $10 billion worth of iPhones.
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