TOPLINE
Apple wants to expand iPhone manufacturing in India within the next two to three years to assemble nearly a quarter of all iPhones there each year, the Wall Street Journal reported, highlighting Apple’s growing ambitions in the country as it looks to reduce its reliance on China.
BIG NUMBER
224.7 million. That is the total number of iPhones shipped by Apple in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. The data shows that 2023 remains on track to post similar numbers.
KEY BACKGROUND
The Journal’s report largely tracks with a forecast made by JPMorgan last year that Apple plans to move 25% of all iPhone manufacturing to India by 2025. At an event in January, India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hailed Apple as “another success story” in India’s push to become a global manufacturing hub. At the time, Goyal also indicated that Apple wanted to bring 25% of its global manufacturing to India. The launch of the iPhone 15 this year was a key milestone for Apple’s India manufacturing plans as it was the first time that the latest iPhone model shipped globally from both Indian and Chinese factories at launch. Previously, production of Apple’s latest models in India would trail China by a few months. Apple’s India expansion has been part of the so-called China+1 strategy adopted by various global companies.
TANGENT
Earlier this week, various outlets reported that Apple has informed its suppliers to source components for iPhone batteries from India, instead of China.
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