Apple Inc., the world’s second-largest tech company, just stepped in to join the Make in India movement. The company, along with one of its suppliers, Wistron Corporation, reportedly bought about 43 acres of land in Karnataka to set up a manufacturing plant. With an investment of Rs 682 crores, Wistron is looking to increase Apple’s share in the Indian mobile market, which has shown a booming growth in the last quarter.
About the plant
The multi-million dollar project is going to be set up in the Kolar district, around 65 kilometres from Bangalore. Apple is most likely going to set up its phones like the iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s. The plant will also assemble other IoT devices, Apple watches, and biotech devices. Wistron also mentioned, “…the manufacturing plant would most likely create around 6000 jobs.”
The outlook
Through this collaboration, Apple will greatly benefit from the relief of customs duties for mobile phones, which the Indian Government has increased by 20 percent. Apple devices are already popular among the Indian mobile audience, although the highest market share in India remains attached to Xiaomi and Samsung. Apple India is looking to rise above its competitors and leverage the potential mobile user base of the country to its advantage.
The company is predicted to move up from the 2-3 percent share in the market and expand its operations in the south-east Asian markets. Last quarter, the market saw a record growth in the sale of iPhones and iPads and the numbers are only predicted to go up.
The Taiwan-based manufacturer, Wistron, is set to take on its competitor Foxconn in the market. Foxconn, another supplier for Apple, is currently leading the telecommunication equipment bracket. Both the manufacturing companies will go head-to-head, with Foxconn setting up units in Maharashtra and Wistron in Karnataka.
Conclusion
Apple is somewhat of a fan favourite for the upper-middle class and above among the Indian mobile users. The company’s dedication and classy product line has made it one of the most popular choices in the market. Even with the increasing demand at hand, Wistron has decided to go with the manufacturing of just the SE range of iPhones. One would think that Apple would at least bring in the iPhone 7 or later variants to be assembled here, but then this is not the first time the company has taken an eccentric decision and created a trend out of nothing.
