Apple’s India supplier base nearly doubles since 2018, value addition at 20%

India's share in Apple's suppliers list is rising

Apple has quietly expanded its India footprint even as the sourcing of most high-value parts remains offshore. A Moneycontrol analysis of Apple’s Supplier List shows the number of vendors with operations in India nearly doubled to 14 in 2023 from eight in 2018.

Put another way, 14 of 187 suppliers on Apple’s 2023 roster have India sites, up from eight of 191 five years earlier. The web remains global: nearly 30 countries feed the company’s production chain for iPhones, Watches and AirPods.

Another industry source said that the actual list of suppliers could be 35-40, given the smaller assembly players that also contribute to Apple’s manufacturing plan.

An Apple spokesperson in India did not respond to an email seeking comment by the time of publication of the story.

Thin Local Value Addition

Local value capture remains limited. “Current domestic value addition is concentrated in self-assembly items—batteries and cells, chargers, mechanicals, packaging, boxes, cables and a handful of smaller parts—yielding roughly ~20 percent DVA across iPhone models. New Delhi wants that to rise to 30–40 percent,” the person added.

China continues to dominate Apple’s supplier ecosystem, with 157 of the 470 supplier units Apple listed for 2023, followed by Taiwan with 48. Several component heavyweights—Infineon Technologies, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics—operate at least a dozen operations across multiple geographies, reflecting Apple’s multi-hub strategy for critical parts like power management, sensors, and connectivity.

Big Swing Ahead

India’s share of Apple suppliers has inched up from 1 percent in 2019 to 3 percent in 2023, and the government is pushing to deepen the base after cracking large-scale assembly. Displays and camera modules—among the most complex and valuable assemblies—remain imported, but localisation is expected once companies secure approvals under the ECMS 2.0 scheme. Experts say that could meaningfully raise India’s value addition, narrowing the gap with China.

Apple’s India roster has steadily widened over the past five years. In 2018, the list of suppliers with Indian operations was a modest eight—firms. Flex, Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry), Wistron, Salcomp, Sunwoda Electronic, Shenzhen YUTO Packaging Technology, and CCL Design (Suzhou) formed the first wave.

By 2023, the lineup had nearly doubled to 14, with Jabil, Pegatron, Tata Electronics, TDK, Zhen Ding Technology and Interplex Holdings joining the earlier set. Some, like Foxconn, Wistron, Sunwoda and Shenzhen YUTO, remained constants, underscoring continuity in Apple’s partner strategy. Others rotated out, making room for new global names betting on India.

“Apple’s strategy remains focused on sourcing non-intelligent components from India,” an industry watcher said.