The manufacture of iPhones has been planned for a separate unit at the site of its previous factory in Sriperumbudur.
Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn is set to start manufacturing Apple’s iPhones in Chennai, the Tamil Nadu state cabinet was told on Monday. The manufacture of the phones will take place on a separate unit at the existing Foxconn factory in Sriperumbudur.
The announcement was made at the meeting of the Tamil Nadu cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday. It also said the manufacture of the iPhones would depend on demand, The Hindu reported.
The Taiwanese giant has resumed operations at its Chennai plant, which it had shut down in 2014 over a Rs 21,000 crore tax dispute with the Tamil Nadu government. In its earlier avatar, the Foxconn plant was the world’s largest manufacturing point for Nokia phones, at one point turning out an estimated 100 million units a year.
Since then, Foxconn has opened a factory in Sri City, the export-oriented industry and domestic tariff zone SEZ just north of Chennai along the Andhra Pradesh – Tamil Nadu border. At this facility, it has been manufacturing phones for companies like Xiaomi, Gionee and Nokia.
While Foxconn manufactures iPhones for Apple, the decision on where the phones is made ultimately by the Cupertino-based company. Any decision by Apple to start a manufacturing line in India would depend on two factors – demand for iPhones in the South Asian market and the viability of export.
Apple’s focus on China is commensurate considering the Chinese mainland market for iPhones is much larger than South Asia, all of which remains a budget phone market. The question then becomes will the global giant find the value chain, tariff structure and the cost differential worthwhile enough to manufacture here for export to markets with relatively greater demand.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "'Made in India' iPhones?")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}