Boost to iPhone-making in India: Tata may open new factory

The Tata Group reportedly plans to build one of India’s largest iPhone assembly plants in Tamil Nadu’s Hosur. According to the reports, the facility is expected to feature around 20 assembly lines and employ 50,000 workers within two years. The site is expected to be operational within 12 to 18 months. The new facility will help the company expand its iPhone manufacturing line after the takeover of one of Apple’s suppliers’ only production facility in India.

The move is considered a part of Apple’s aim to expand manufacturing operations in the South Asian country. However, neither Tata Group nor Apple have made any public announcements as of now.

Tata already operates an iPhone manufacturing in Karnataka, which it purchased from Wistron Corp. After the takeover, Tata Group became the first Indian conglomerate to manufacture iPhone and other Apple products in India. For years, Apple suppliers such as Foxconn and Pegatron have been manufacturing the iPhone in the country.

Apple has partnered with manufacturing and assembly partners in India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other regions to diversify its operations away from China. The proposed new iPhone factory is expected to be of moderate size and surpass the scale of Tata’s existing facility acquired from Wistron, which employs more than 10,000 individuals.

Meanwhile, Apple is aiming to manufacture more than 50 million iPhones in India per year, as it aims to shift some of the production out from China, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the development. If Apple achieves this target, India would account for a quarter of global iPhone production. China will remain the largest iPhone producer, the report mentioned.

— Written with inputs from IANS