iPhones from India: Apple manufacturers build iPhone factories for billions
Apple is getting serious about relocating production from China. Two important partners are building new iPhone factories, one already up and running.
Indian flag with Apple logo.
(Image: Montage: Mac & i)
Apple's efforts to relocate its production from China to India in order to avoid punitive tariffs imposed by the US government are accelerating. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, a new factory of the manufacturer Tata has now been put into operation, while another Foxconn plant is currently undergoing rapid construction. Billions of US dollars are to be invested in the process, according to the report.
The latest iPhones have also long been in production
The Tata factory is located in southern India and will start delivering the first iPhones as early as May. This will apparently initially involve older models. However, Apple has also been building top models on the subcontinent – for some time now, just a few weeks after the start of production in China.
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The Foxconn plant, which is being built in Bengaluru (formerly known as Bangalore), has a budget of 2.6 billion dollars. A first production line is already in place and is expected to go into operation in the next few days, according to informed sources. Between 300 and 500 iPhones per hour are to roll off the production line, including the iPhone 16 and the brand new 16e. 50,000 jobs are to be created in full operation, and the plant is scheduled to be completed by December 2027.
Record figures for deliveries to the USA
Neither Tata, Foxconn nor Apple commented on the report. While Foxconn has its roots in Taiwan and has long served Apple as a manufacturer in China and Brazil, among other places, Tata is a major Indian corporation that is increasingly becoming a central partner in the country. Currently, 75 percent of all iPhones are still built in China, but this is set to shrink to 50 percent in the foreseeable future. The plan is reportedly to manufacture all iPhones intended for the USA in India, as Apple assumes that the punitive tariffs there will never be as high as for China.
In March, iPhones worth 2 billion dollars are said to have been shipped from India to America – 600 tons by plane. However, there are obstacles in the way of Apple setting up production in India: Beijing wants to prevent production machines from being exported – or is slowing down the process. The government under US President Donald Trump, on the other hand, would like to see iPhone production in the USA. However, its implementation is considered virtually impossible. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick recently claimed that Apple was still waiting for "robotic arms" to assemble iPhones in his home country.
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