IPhone Manufacturing: Can India Pip China Anytime Soon?
The Apple iPhone story in India is progressing at a rapid pace. Exports have crossed the $1 billion in the five months since April, there’s been a quick turnaround in manufacturing of different variants of the latest iPhone 14, new joint ventures (JVs) are being set up between domestic and international chip manufacturers, and brokerage firms have put out glowing commentaries. A Bloomberg report suggests that at the current rate, outbound shipments of India-made iPhones, particularly to Europe and the Middle East, will be worth $2.5 billion in the 12 months to March 2023. This means the net value of the iPhones produced locally will double from $1.3 billion through March 2022. India looks poised for rapid progress in the highly monopolised market of iPhone manufacturing, but can it leapfrog China and become the most-preferred partner of the Cupertino tech giant? The answer lies in the data: According to recent estimates from Bloomberg Intelligence, it will take about ei...