Apple to scale up production over 5 times in India to $40 billion in 5 years

Apple manufacturers iPhones in India and has plans to start manufacturing Airpods from next year.

Tech-giant Apple has plans to scale up production in India by upwards of five-fold to around $40 billion (about 3.32 lakh crore) in the next 4-5 years, according to government sources. According to the official, who did not wish to be named, the company has crossed the $7 billion production mark in the last financial year.

"Apple has plans to increase production in India to over USD 40 billion in the next 4-5 years. It has crossed USD 7 billion in the last fiscal," the official stated. An email query was sent to Apple, but did not elicit any response.

Apple is currently manufacturing iPhones in India and has further plans to start manufacturing Airpods from next year. The officer said that Apple has no immediate plans to make iPads or laptops in the country.

"They don't have any plans to participate in IT hardware PLI. They may come at a later stage but as of now their focus is to scale up existing production levels," the officer said. The company globally sold iPhones amounting to $191 billion as well as products worth $38.36 billion in the wearable, home and accessories segment in the financial year ended on September 25, 2022.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal, the company recorded about a 4 percent dip in iPhone sales at $156.77 billion and a slight decline in the wearable, home and accessories segment at USD 30.52 billion. The company has become the largest exporter of mobile phones from India.

According to industry sources, sales of Apple's iPhone 15 series registered a 100 percent growth compared to that of the iPhone 14 series on the launch day on Friday. Apple has launched four models in the iPhone 15 series. Two variants  being iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus -- are also being made in India.

The company has for the first time made available the 'made-in-India' iPhones on the same day it started selling the devices in other parts of the globe. According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple led the ultra-premium segment, with phones priced above Rs 45,000 apiece, with 59 per cent market share in the first quarter of 2023 and India is among the top-five markets for the company now.

(With inputs from PTI)