Tata Group about to make iPhones in India for global markets

Tata Group is about to make iPhones in India for international markets

While I confess I thought the deal was done and dusted, giant India conglomerate, Tata Group, has finally taken position within the iPhone supply chain following its acquisition of Apple smartphone manufacturing facility from Wistron.

India has now entered the Apple supply chain

India’s Deputy IT Minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced that Tata Group will begin making iPhones for local and international markets at the former Wistron factory in late October. The statement was issued shortly after Wistron’s board approved the sale of the plant at a cost of $125 million.

Wistron and Tata Group have been negotiating the deal for over a year.

It means that Tata will become the first Indian-owned company to make iPhones. Tata is a powerhouse. In existence for 155 years the conglomerate has interests in just about everything, salt, steel, and tech. The company has even committed to launching 100 Apple-dedicated stores across South Asia.

“The Ministry of Electronics and IT stands fully in support in growth of global Indian electronics companies that will in turn support global electronic brands that want to make India their trusted manufacturing & talent partner and to realize PM’s goal of making India a global electronics power,” wrote Rajeev Chandrasekhar on social media.

The new global hub?

India continues to become a global hub for tech industry production. For Apple, this is reflected in rapid growth in market share across all its products and a buoyant retail arm in India. TechCrunch claims Apple to be working with HDFC Bank to launch Apple Pay services there.

Every action creates reaction, of course.

In Apple’s case, while it is seeing acceleration in terms of market activity in India, in China it has seen smartphone sales decline 10 percent year on year.

In part this reflects freezing political connections between China and the US as the trade agreements that enabled the last 50-years of relative prosperity are systematically eradicated in favor of whatever it is our stupid politicians think will come next. Visions which at present seem both small-minded and bleak.

What happens next?

At the same time, the notion of building more resilience into supply chains post covid makes nothing but sense, and Apple’s far-sighted approach to do just that may yet empower the future of the company. Though the company does face the challenges of continued decline in both US influence and regional stability across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

However, in the end, perhaps it is optimism rather than doom that will characterize the inevitably forthcoming new commercial age. In which event, Apple’s continued determination to deliver human-focused solutions should give the company some advantage in the era to come.

Meanwhile its continued and determined evolution in India remains a key story here at AppleMust, and you can follow news and insights as they emerge in this dedicated feed.

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