Tata Group is all set to produce iPhones in India for global markets

New Delhi: The Tata Group is all set to produce iPhones in India for sale in the local and international markets, making the country a viable alternative for Apple to source iPhone manufacturing.

The government will back the Tata Group and other Indian electronics businesses in their attempts to collaborate with worldwide brands, Electronics and Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. The initiative is expected to be finished within two and a half years.

Wistron Corp. has agreed to sell a facility in the south of India to the Tata Group, making the latter the first Indian company to manufacture iPhones for both the local and international markets. The board of directors of Wistron, a Taiwanese electronics maker, has authorised the $125 million sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd. to Tata, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Tata to acquire Wistron plant for about $125 mn, official now.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar congratulated the Tata team for taking over Wistron operations.#Tata #Wistron #Apple #iPhone #news #exposed pic.twitter.com/2tg4BdCnML

— TiE (@Techinfoeditor) October 27, 2023

“Upon confirmation and signature of the relevant agreements by both parties, the deal will proceed to obtain the necessary approvals. Following the completion of the transaction, Wistron will make the required announcements and filings in accordance with applicable regulations,” the release stated.

Rajeev Chandrashekhar sent his congratulations to the Tata team on their acquisition of Wistron. He also complimented Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his production-linked incentive (PLI) policy, claiming it has already established India as a reliable and substantial exporter of smartphones.

PM @narendramodi Ji’s visionary PLI scheme has already propelled India into becoming a trusted & major hub for smartphone manufacturing and exports.

Now within just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from… pic.twitter.com/kLryhY7pvL

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) October 27, 2023

India’s growing importance to Apple’s diversification efforts may be attributed in large part to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s financial incentives to bolster local production and the company’s aim to look beyond China amid a Washington-Beijing trade war.

The PLI scheme, which was announced in 2021, will spend 1.97 lakh crore on 14 industries in order to increase domestic production, generate new jobs, and prop up exports. These industries include mass-produced electronics, textiles, medical device production, automobiles, speciality steel, food production, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and pharmaceuticals.

Tata Companies will begin manufacturing iPhones in India for both the local and international markets over the next two and a half years, he said.

Tata Group to manufacture India’s first homegrown iPhone after buying Wistron plant near Bengaluru.

Few Key Points:

1. Sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd. to Tata was for $125 million.

2. Tata group has been in talks with the Taiwanese iPhone maker for… pic.twitter.com/AWcOfKVfG5

— Taxology India (@taxologyin) October 28, 2023

WISTRON TO SELL INDIA UNIT TO TATA GROUP FOR $125M

WISTRON OPERATES AN IPHONE ASSEMBLY FACTORY NEAR BENGALURU(KOLAR) pic.twitter.com/pMdT6kBoro

— Karnataka Development Index (@IndexKarnataka) October 27, 2023

The iPhone’s metal chassis is already manufactured at Apple’s vast facility in Tamil Nadu, which covers hundreds of acres of land.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said earlier this year that Apple shipped $5 billion in products out of India in 2022, with intentions to manufacture 25% of worldwide units in India over the following four to five years.

Pegatron Corp. and Foxconn Technology Group, two manufacturing behemoths based in Taiwan, built many Apple iPhones. Along with Foxconn and Pegatron, Wistron is one of the three Taiwanese companies making iPhones for the Indian market.

Tata has increased its business with Apple by taking other measures, including a hiring drive at its facility in Hosur, close to Bengaluru, which manufactures iPhone components. Tata might expand its iPhone production facilities, which are now located on hundreds of acres of land, in the future years. In addition, Tata has said it would open 100 Apple retail locations in the nation of 1.4 billion people.