Apple wants to manufacture 25% of its iPhones in India, minister says

Apple is looking to manufacture 25% of all of its iPhones in India, the country’s commerce minister said Monday.

Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of commerce and industry, called Apple “another success story” as he talked up the business credentials of the world’s fifth-largest economy.

“They’re [Apple] already at about 5-7% of their manufacturing in India. If I am not mistaken, they are targeting to go up to 25% of their manufacturing,” Goyal said at a conference.

Apple did not reply to a request for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Last year, Apple began assembling its flagship iPhone 14 in India. It was the first time the tech giant, based in Cupertino, California, produced its latest model in India so close to its launch. Apple has been manufacturing iPhones in India since 2017, but these were usually older models.

Taiwanese firm Foxconn, the main assembler of Apple’s iPhones, is manufacturing the smartphones at its Sriperumbudur factory on the outskirts of Chennai in eastern India.

JPMorgan analysts said in a note from September that Apple could make 25% of all iPhones globally in India by 2025.

Apple has been looking to diversify production away from China, where it currently makes the bulk of its iPhones. Fragilities in China were exposed last year after a Covid outbreak and worker protests at the world’s largest iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, China, which is also run by Foxconn, disrupted production.

Last year, CNBC reported that India is exploring bringing some of Apple’s iPad production to the country from China.

Apple has just a 5% market share in India’s smartphone market, but CEO Tim Cook has long-seen India as a potential area for growth.