Foxconn commences iPhone 15 production in India
Apple Inc.’s next-generation iPhone 15 is beginning production in Tamil Nadu, in an effort to further narrow the gap between its India operations and main manufacturing base in China.
A Foxconn Technology Group plant in Sriperumbudur is preparing to deliver the newest devices only weeks after they start shipping from factories in China, as the company seeks to swiftly increase the volume of new iPhones coming from India, people familiar with the matter said.
The Cupertino, California-based firm is on a multiyear project to diversify its manufacturing away from China, de-risking the supply chain for its most important products as tensions between Washington and Beijing make trade less predictable. India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has sought to build closer ties to the US and make itself a manufacturing hub.
Before the iPhone 14, Apple had only a sliver of its iPhone assembly in India, which lagged China output by six to nine months. That delay was drastically reduced last year, and Apple produced 7% of its iPhones in India at the end of March. The goal this year is to move closer to parity on shipment timing from India and China, though suppliers are not yet certain they will achieve it, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public.
The scale of India production for the iPhone 15 will depend on the ready availability of components, which are largely imported, and the smooth ramp-up of production lines at the Foxconn factory outside Chennai.