India’s Tata Group and Taiwanese company Wistron may come up with a joint venture to manufacture Apple iPhones in India- Bloomberg reported. The joint venture will increase iPhone production significantly and helps boost India’s global supply percentage.
India’s iPhone plants are estimated to contribute 5%-7% to global shipments this year, up from 3%-4% earlier. It should be noted that the “Make in India” iPhone is limited to Indian users. At present, Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron assemble iPhones in India, and Foxconn is a leading manufacturer. iPhone manufacturing in India still doesn’t contribute a crucial percentage.
Tata Looking to Manufacture Apple iPhone
If this deal happens, Tata could be the first Indian company to manufacture Apple iPhone locally. The pact between Tata and Wistron will not only benefit the country’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat”/”Self-reliant India” initiative but also reduce dependency on China.
Currently, Wistron India’s business is struggling and reporting losses. Therefore, a local partner like the Tata Group could help them financially and for future investments.
After the covid-19 outbreak, many companies are diversifying their product manufacturing away from China. Also, from a geopolitical point of view, increased economic activity with India would give Taiwan an advantage over its dispute with China.
However, the details of the joint venture to manufacture Apple iPhone are yet to be officially confirmed. Tata could buy equity in Wistron India operations as it already has manufacturing plants in India, located in Karnataka state. Furthermore, Tata may build a separate assembly plant with Wistron’s expertise.
It is a challenge for foreign companies to invest heavily in the country directly, so partnering with local companies is a beneficial decision. Several companies are approaching this way, such as Vedanta and Foxconn partnering to manufacture 28nm semiconductors and Generation 8 displays.
According to the report – It wasn’t immediately clear if Apple was aware of the talks. Also, Tata Group, Wistron and Apple refused to comment on this news.