Iphone India: iPhone Manufacturing: Can India Shoot China Anytime Soon? | So Good News

The Apple iPhone story in India is growing fast. Exports have crossed $1 billion in the five months since April. Fast turnarounds in production of the latest iPhone 14 variants; New joint ventures are being established between domestic and international chip makers, as well as brokerage firms. Make glowing comments.

At current rates, exports of India-made iPhones, particularly to Europe and the Middle East, will be worth $2.5 billion in the 12 months to March 2023, according to a Bloomberg report. This means that the net worth of domestically produced iPhones will be there. Doubled to $1.3 billion by March 2022.

India is poised for rapid growth in the highly monopolized iPhone manufacturing market, but could it leapfrog China and become the Cupertino tech giant’s favorite partner?

The answer lies in the data: According to recent estimates from Bloomberg Intelligence, it would take eight years for Apple to move 10% of its manufacturing capacity out of China and 98% of the company’s iPhones out of China.

Also, the difference in the number of iPhones produced in India and China remains huge. Last year, India produced about 3 million iPhones, while China produced 230 million.

The reason why China is miles ahead of India now is that it has a good ecosystem of local component suppliers. modern and efficient transportation; Communication and power supply have been tested by Apple.

So it seems that Apple is thinking of completely overhauling such an ecosystem.

India is rising fast.

A recent review by Moody’s, which subtly praised Apple’s Indian manufacturing capabilities, strengthened confidence in India’s capabilities.

“Apple’s plan to manufacture iPhone 14 products in India is positive as it diversifies its manufacturing base, which is heavily concentrated in China,” said Raj Joshi, senior vice president at corporate finance group Moody’s.

In its note, Moody’s wrote that Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in India since 2017. But domestic production of iPhone 14 models within weeks of their global launch is expected to accelerate, demonstrating the maturity of the company’s manufacturing capabilities in India.

This maturity stems from developments in the Indian smartphone manufacturing industry and chip manufacturing.

Recently, Vedanta has announced that it will set up a manufacturing hub for iPhones and televisions in Maharashtra. The mining giant will own a 60% stake in the joint venture, while Taiwanese chipmaker Foxconn will own the remaining 40%.

As Tata Group enters the fray, the race to produce iPhones heats up. The conglomerate is in talks with Taiwanese electronics giant Wistron to set up a JV.

The government is also looking to boost India’s nascent but promising semiconductor industry. We recently reported that the Indian government is aiming to get a bigger share of the global pie as demand for semiconductor chips, hailed as the “new oil,” gathers pace.

China’s loss could be India’s gain.

Relations between the U.S. and China have hit a major stalemate as the U.S. seeks to renew its status as the world’s largest economy and China seeks to dethrone it.

The battle over semiconductors is an important part of this battle.

China is breathing down Taiwan’s neck, home to the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing facilities and the reliance of top customers such as Samsung.

China regards Taiwan as an integral part of the country and has repeatedly said that any US attempt to counter it will be met with an adequate response.

In retaliation, the Joe-Biden administration passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, budgeting $52.7 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research and a 25% investment tax credit for chip factories worth an estimated $24 billion. This loan is due on January 1st. Valid for projects starting construction after 2023.

The U.S. government also ordered chip designers Nvidia Corp and AMD to stop exporting to China two leading computer chips for the artificial intelligence industry for national security.

With relations between the two countries deteriorating and India warming to the US, The country’s ambitions could be boosted in time to become an iPhone manufacturing hub and a leader in semiconductors.

But according to the data, India has a long way to go before it can compete with China’s iPhone production.