As Apple’s relocation out of China picks up pace, some suppliers reportedly have decided to move to northern India instead of southern India, where Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron assemble iPhones.
IANS reported that some of Apple’s suppliers held a meeting in South Korea and proposed to invest INR28 billion (US$340 million) in Uttar Pradesh. At least three suppliers, including Japan-based Seiko Advance and a camera parts maker whose name is undisclosed, have deposited 10% of the investment for land in Sector 29 of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
Sector 29 of YEIDA is located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, less than 20 kilometers from New Delhi.
According to YEIDA CEO Arun Vir Singh, Seiko Advance, an ink manufacturer well-known for the midnight green iPhone, plans to make its product on five acres of land at Sector 29. These suppliers proposed to set up manufacturing facilities on about 23 acres of land in Uttar Pradesh.
More than half of Apple’s suppliers in India set up their manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu in Apple’s fiscal 2021 (October 2020 to September 2021), especially Taiwan-based suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron. Meanwhile, China-based vendors, including Oppo and Vivo, are investing in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display also have manufacturing plants in Greater Noida.
WSJ quoted unnamed sources saying that Apple has asked suppliers to accelerate their moves to assemble Apple’s products outside China, especially India and Vietnam. Nikkei Asia reported that Apple may begin manufacturing MacBooks in Vietnam in 2023.
According to Bloomberg, Counterpoint Research analysts Ivan Lam and Shenghao Bai estimate that due to the pandemic and lockdowns in China, Foxconn may move 30% of its capacity to other Asian countries and Brazil.
According to JP Morgan, India may account for 25% of global iPhone production by 2025, and DIGITIMES Research analyst Luke Lin foresees a nearly 50% of iPhone production share in India by 2027.
Source: Apple Supplier List, compiled by DIGITIMES Asia, December 2022