Shipments of iPhones made in India have generated $1 billion since April and a new report suggests the number will double and reach $2.5 billion by March 2023.
Rising shipments of iPhones made in India will help establish the region as a manufacturing hub
According to a new report from Bloomberg, outbound shipments of iPhones made in India to Europe and the Middle East are going to reach $2.5 billion in the 12 months through March 2023.
Rising shipments will aid Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to make the country an alternative to China in terms of production. As previously reported, Apple is ramping up efforts to move some of its production away from China to India, Vietnam, etc. However, moving production away from China will not be easy since the region is well versed in the production of electronics.
While India makes up just a small fraction of iPhone output, rising exports bode well for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to make the country an alternative to China as factory to the world. Apple, which long made most of its iPhones in China, is seeking alternatives as Xi Jinping’s administration clashes with the US government and imposes lockdowns across the country that have disrupted economic activity.
“The healthy growth in Apple’s manufacturing scale and export shows India is gradually assuming an important position in the company’s China plus one strategy,” Navkendar Singh, an analyst at tech researcher IDC, told Bloomberg. “And for India, this a big sign of the success of its financial incentives scheme.”
JP Morgan analysts predict that the Cupertino tech giant will move an estimated 5% of iPhone production to India later this year. Specifically, production of the new iPhone 14 models.
The tech giant initially began iPhone production in the region first with the iPhone SE in 2017 to diversify its product supply chain outside of China. Since then, it has expanded production capabilities to the iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone SE (2020), and the iPhone 13 models. It is also expected that Foxconn will manufacture the standard iPhone 14 models at its Chennai plant.
Despite today’s report, Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that will take the Cupertino tech giant almost a decade to move just 10% of its production away from China, where almost 98% of its iPhones have been made.
