Tata Group closes in on a deal to become first Indian iPhone maker. Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, is close to reaching an agreement to acquire an Apple Inc. supplier’s factory as soon as August, marking the first time a local company would move into iPhone assembly.
A takeover of the Wistron Corp. factory in Karnataka, which could be worth more than $600 million, would end about a year of negotiations, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The plant employs over 10,000 people who assemble the latest iPhone 14 model.
According to the people, Wistron has committed to shipping iPhones worth at least $1.8 billion from the factory in the fiscal year ending March 2024 in order to receive state-backed financial incentives. It also intended to more than triple the plant’s workforce by next year. Tata intends to keep those promises as Wistron exits the iPhone business in India.
Tata, Wistron, and Apple representatives declined to comment.
The introduction of an Indian iPhone is likely to boost Apple’s efforts to diversify its product portfolio beyond China and expand technology manufacturing in the South Asian country.
In the three months ending June 30, Wistron exported nearly $500 million in iPhones from India, and Apple’s other key Taiwanese suppliers, Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp., have also increased their local production.
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Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi established government programmes with lucrative financial incentives to expand production and employment, India has made progress in domestic manufacturing.
As Tata Group closes in on a deal to become the first Indian iPhone maker, following the country’s Covid lockdowns and rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, Apple has increased its efforts to diversify away from China.
An Indian company producing iPhones could provide a significant boost to Modi’s efforts to challenge China’s status as the world’s factory. It may persuade other global electronics companies to consider manufacturing in India in order to reduce their reliance on China.
Tata Group, which has been in business for 155 years, sells everything from salt to technology services. In recent years, the group has sought to expand into electronics manufacturing and e-commerce, both of which are relatively new areas for the Tata family.
It already manufactures iPhone chassis, or the device’s metal frame, at its factory in Tamil Nadu, which spans hundreds of acres of land. According to Chairman N Chandrasekaran, the Tatas also support chipmaking ambitions.
