Foxconn Chairman Young Liu meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid chip, EV ambitions

Foxconn Chairman Young Liu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Image courtesy - Twitter)

Hon Hai Technology Group (aka Foxconn) Chairman Young Liu met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the company's future in India. The visit comes at a time when the Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturing major plans to expand its electronics manufacturing capacity in India, including in semiconductors and electric vehicles (EVs).

The government welcomes Foxconn's plans for the country, Modi said in a Twitter post on June 23.

Glad to meet Mr. Young Liu, Chairman, Foxconn. I welcome their plans for expanding electronics manufacturing capacity in India, including in semiconductors. Our push for EV manufacturing is in line with our commitment of Net Zero Emission. pic.twitter.com/sC1AoGWn9c

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— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 23, 2022

Foxconn is considering to set up an EV manufacturing unit in India through its subsidiary Foxtron. The Tamil Nadu government is looking to woo the company to further invest in the state and set up the EV manufacturing unit, according to media reports.

The company also manufactures iPhones for Apple exclusively in a facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Apart from this, Foxconn's Indian entity, Bharat FIH, operates a separate facility that makes Xiaomi phones.

Foxconn has recently entered the electric vehicles market. Earlier this year, the company purchased a plant in the US to produce EVs for the North American market. In its annual report in 2021, the company said that they would replicate this localisation model in South-Asia. The report also stated that a tough year didn't stop Foxconn's consolidated revenue from increasing by 12 percent to $203.7 billion.

The developments come at a time when Indian policymakers are trying to create an environment conducive for EV makers, as the country tries to gradually cut down on costly fuel imports and switch to vehicles that run on green energy and reduce pollution.

American EV maker Tesla had also been in talks with the Union government over manufacturing in the country as well. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has strongly stated that they would not manufacture in India unless they are allowed to sell and service in the country first. Musk has repeatedly cited India's high import duties as the biggest roadblock for Tesla to enter the country and have urged the government for them to be reduced.

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