Wistron Corp., Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler in India, wants to expand its iPhone manufacturing in India. The company is reportedly scouting for 100 acres of land in Bangalore to set up the plant. Wistron executives visited several locations and narrowed down a few, including a one close to the airport. The Taiwanese manufacturer plans on using the facility to supply to other brands aside from Apple.
Apart from Wistron, other Apple manufacturers like Foxconn and Pegatron are also looking to expand its manufacturing presence in India. iPhone assemblers are eager to set up iPhone manufacturing plants in India as it would not only reduce the manufacturing cost but would also help establish a national presence in the country.
In fact, Apple itself hopes for an expanded presence in future. The company currently holds only 3 percent of the smartphone market in a nation where the population is over 1. 311 billion. About time Tim Cook realized that 1.311 billion is too big of a number to ignore. (Perks of being an overpopulated country!)
Tim Cook said that the company has ” great momentum in India, where revenue doubled year over year.” He mentioned that the company can gain ground, but will require work on many fronts.”It’s building stores. It’s building channels. It’s building markets. It’s building the developer ecosystem,” he said. “It has the right product lineup for the market. And I feel like we’re making good progress there and are gaining an understanding of the market, but we still have a long way to go.”
While manufacturing of iPhones in India has been limited to the iPhone SE, Apple has been in talks with the federal government to expand its manufacturing facilities and open its retail stores in India. Good Call, we say.
And if anyone has ever wondered why buying an iPhone leaves you with no rent money? Here’s why
Apple’s already expensive devices become even more expensive in India as the government levies tariff on devices manufactured outside the country.
So along with the $999 price tag for the new iPhone X, us Indians pay additional tariff levied on the phone. Just let that sink in!