Apple iPhone raises value of ‘Made in India’ smartphone biz

Another day, another slice of news from India as Apple CEO Tim Cook visits China to keep communicating there.

(He has always said the best way to change things is to keep talking, rather than warring).

Todays new’s is that Apple has increased the volume of iPhones made in India by 65% in 2022. This reflects the momentum Apple continues to build as it turns the nation into a second critical product manufacturing hub.

Apple’s India drive is driving into premium markets

It is interesting that the data also claims the value of those phones increased 162%. This likely reflects the success of the iPhone Pro range, which enjoys a higher sales price than the entry level models.

The data, produced by Counterpoint, also notes the move toward premium devices among consumers.Counterpoint senior research analyst, Prachir Singh said: “Apple EMS (electronics manufacturing services) partners Foxconn and Wistron were the fastest-growing manufacturers among the top 10 in the fourth quarter of 2022.”

Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron were among the top 10 EMS players in India in 2022 in terms of volume. In terms of value, Foxconn Hon Hai and Wistron led the race. Both the latter firms have picked up PLI support from India’s government.

Up, down, all around

While overall shipments of smartphones made in India declined 3% in reaction to economic slowdown, the number of such devices exported increased, in part thanks to iPhones. Exports of iPhones grew 37%, the data claims, even as overall shipments of smartphones made in India fell. Apple now seems to account for 25% of smartphones made in India. (I’m actually a little unclear here as what the report says is: ‘‘Made in India’ shipments from Apple grew 65% YoY by volume and 162% YoY by value, taking the brand’s value share to 25% in 2022, up from 12% in 2021.”
“Among the EMS players, Foxconn Hon Hai led the manufacturing shipments in Q4 2022, followed by Dixon. Dixon remained the top Indian EMS player in Q4 2022 as well. In the feature phone segment, Lava led the ‘Made in India’ shipments with almost 29% share”, said Singh.

India’s strategy to grow its electronics industry

On the overall 2022 performance and Indian government initiatives, Research Director Tarun Pathak said, “Overall, 2022 has been a good year in terms of manufacturing and localization in India. The increasing exports from Apple, Samsung and other OEMs drove the locally manufactured shipments in 2022 and somewhat offset the impact of the local demand decline.

The analyst took note of India’s PLI incentives for electronics manufacturers.

“The recent disbursement of PLI incentives from the government as well as other initiatives, both at the central and state levels, has boosted the overall local manufacturing,” they said. “We are now seeing multiple companies investing in India and expanding their manufacturing base. Also, the component and semiconductor ecosystem is witnessing investment growth due to the government’s continuous efforts. However, the government should focus on developing the overall ecosystem and play on India’s strengths like high local demand, developing local talent and improving overall infrastructure. We believe that the government will leverage India’s geopolitical strengths and focus on building favourable export and trade policies to make India a preferred destination for electronics manufacturing.”

In other recent news from India:

• Pegatron in talks to open second iPhone factory in India
• Apple wants new working laws in India.
• Apple is about to open its first retail stores in India.
• Foxconn plans to begin AirPods production in India.
• New India smartphone security proposals may cause problems for Apple.
• India’s changed labour laws for Foxconn in one region.
• Apple has decided to change its global sales structure, elevating Ashish Chowdhary to lead Apple’s teams in India.
• Apple VP Lisa Jackson gave an extraordinarily insightful interview in which the company promised to make big investments in carbon neutral supply chain development in India.
• Apple also announced it will work with NGO Frank Water to improve water management in India and Bengaluru.
• More recently, a senior executive of an Apple partner called Goertek made news when he suggested Apple is pushing really hard to get suppliers to set up manufacturing in India.
• That same executive made headlines again a few days later when he suddenly resigned with immediate effect.
• Apple supplier Foxconn announced a massive $700 million investment in building a new manufacturing facility at about the same time.
• That’s raising some friction in China, where Foxconn had to deny claims distributed on social media that the company is dismantling its existing production lines in China’s Shenzhen.

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