As many as 14 Apple suppliers from China have been given initial clearance by the government as India pushes for ramping up domestic manufacturing of smartphones, Bloomberg reported.
Luxshare Precision and a unit of lensmaker Sunny Optical Technology among companies granted approval, Bloomberg quoted sources as saying.
These clearance are being seen as a step towards full approval in India but these suppliers would have to search for an India JV partner.
India is fast becoming a major iPhone manufacturing hub at a time when corporations are trying expand their presence in other geographies in what is being called China+1.
According to a forecast by Luke Lin, an analyst at the research unit of Taiwan’s DigiTimes newspaper, in the South China Morning Post, India could produce one in two of the world’s iPhones by 2027 as compared to the current percentage with stands at less than 5 percent. The forecast is more aggressive than JPMorgan’s earlier prediction that India would assemble 25 percent of total Apple iPhones worldwide by 2025.
China’s zero-tolerance approach to Covid-19 disrupted production of Apple products, particularly the iPhone, when Foxconn’s biggest assembly plant was shut due to a Covid-19 outbreak last November in Zhengzhou. This led to Apple issue a rare warning that shipments would be delayed just ahead of the holiday season.
The approval for these suppliers is critical for raising production in India. The local assembly of iPhones is being seen as a manufacturing coup as India focusses on luring more corporations with its PLI scheme.
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