Apple has reportedly started assembling its latest mobile phone model iPhone 13 in India at the plant of its contract manufacturing partner Foxconn in Chennai. This move is expected to widen the US smartphone major’s presence in a market, which is the second largest and fastest growing with regards to the sale of smartphones. It is also likely to grow Apple’s market share at record levels. There are other benefits for Apple when it comes to expand the production business in India. The company will be able to save on import duties and also have a tight control over supplies, which will aid to the availability of iPhone in India.
“We are excited to begin making iPhone 13… right here in India for our local customers,” ET quoted Apple as saying in a statement. The decision to manufacture iPhone 13 in India locally can be called as a direct response to the Centre’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, which has provided a fresh impetus to domestic production and assembly of smartphones here. With the iPhone 13, Apple now makes all its top selling models in India locally with the help of Foxconn and Wistron, its partners in the country. However, none of the Pro models are made in India currently.
“We are excited to begin making iPhone 13 — with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip — right here in India for our local customers,” Financial Express quoted the US major as saying.
The Apple iPhone 13 price starts at Rs 79,990, while it goes up as much as Rs 89,900 in the country. With the move to make the phones locally in India, apple will save over 20 per cent import duty, but whether the price will be reduced for customers is yet to be seen.
Apple’s move to make the phones locally will also give it the option to invest cost savings into aggressive marketing initiatives through its partners, especially during the festive season. This has worked wonders for the company in the past and contributed to its growing share. The company also witnessed its shipments growing 108 per cent on-year to a record of five million units, or around 4 per cent market share, as per the report. This was fuelled by a change in strategy, where Apple opened online store in India and streamlined discounts among others to encourage consumers.
However, despite being India’s leading premium smartphone brand, Apple lagged far behind other major players in price-sensitive country in terms of Xiaomi. While top brand Xiaomi had 24 per cent share, Apple ranked six at 4 per cent market share. Fifth-rank Oppo had 10 per cent share on the contrary.
Apple will also rope in Pegatron, its second largest manufacturer globally, to make phones in India. As per reports, Pegatron will initially start with producing iPhone 12 in the country.
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