According to those with knowledge of the situation, Pegatron Corp. has become the second Apple supplier in India to begin producing the most recent iPhone 14 model, which is being used to meet both domestic and international demand. They also mentioned the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones, which the Taiwanese contract maker wants to invest Rs 1,132 crore between FY2022-23 and FY2024-25.
Within ten days of its global launch, another Apple supplier, Foxconn, began producing the iPhone 14 in India in September, highlighting the US smartphone giant’s effort to increase production of its most recent gadgets in what is quickly becoming a crucial production hub.
In order to diversify its manufacturing and lessen its reliance on China, Apple’s three contract manufacturers—Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron—are all actively expanding in India. In addition, Covid-19 lockout has been in place for the past three days at Foxconn’s Zhengzhou, China, plant, the world’s largest production facility for iPhones.
Following this development, noted Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo, in a tweet on Friday, said Foxconn will accelerate the expansion of capacity at its India plant. “As a result, iPhones made by Foxconn in India will grow by at least 150% on-year in 2023, and the medium/long-term goal is to ship 40-45% of iPhones from India (versus the current 2-4%),” Kuo said.
The latest Apple supplier to do so was Pegatron, which began producing the iPhone 12 in April of this year.
According to reports, the company intends to invest Rs 1,132 crore under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones between FY2022-23 and FY2024-25. Since the corporation entered a year late, it will only be taking part for four years.
Foxconn and Wistron, two additional Apple suppliers, will receive incentives for a period of five years. Global companies are required to make a cumulative minimum investment of Rs 1,000 crore over a four-year period in accordance with the PLI scheme’s rules. In the last year of the five-year arrangement, the corporations are not compelled to make an investment. Pegatron has committed to investing for the first three years because it will only accept incentives for a four-year period.
The initiative mandates that multinational corporations invest an additional minimum of Rs 250 crore in the first year compared to the base year. Pegatron intends to manufacture 94,349 iPhones over the course of four years, of which 77,293 iPhones will be exported. 28,733 individuals are expected to be employed by the business. In Chengalpet, Tamil Nadu, there is a manufacturing facility for Pegatron.
Pegatron had not responded to inquiries as of the time of publication. Apple declined to comment. The Pro models are currently imported from China and are not produced in India by any of Apple’s vendors. The 2020 launch of the PLI plan for smartphones was intended to entice manufacturers away from economically dominating nations like China and Vietnam. India is attempting to overtake the two nations, which continue to export more mobile phones than any other nation in the globe, thanks to the programme. By 2025–2026, India wants to export mobile phones worth $60 billion.
In fact, Apple and Samsung were the main contributors to India’s monthly mobile phone exports reaching the $1 billion milestone (about Rs 8,200 crore) in September for the first time ever.
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