Earlier, Reuters reported that contract manufacturer Pegatron was in talks to sell its sole iPhone assembly plant in India to Tata Group, and discussions were in advanced stages. Regarding this matter, Pegatron told CNA reporters that this report was speculative and lacked evidence, declining to comment further.

According to a Reuters report on April 8, Pegatron was said to be considering selling its iPhone assembly plant located in Chennai, a major city in southern India, to Tata Group, India’s largest private enterprise. The negotiations were rumored to conclude within six months. If an agreement is reached, the two parties will establish a joint venture, with Tata Group holding a 65% stake to operate the plant, while Pegatron will retain a 35% stake and provide technical support.

Sources cited by Reuters also mentioned that Pegatron is building another iPhone assembly plant in the Chennai area, and discussions with Tata include acquiring control of this new facility. The negotiations between Tata and Pegatron are expected to conclude within six months, after which all Pegatron India plant employees will transition to the joint venture.

Amid rising geopolitical risks, tech giants are diversifying production away from China. Pegatron reduced its stake in its Kunshan plant to 37.5% in December, with Chinese Luxshare now leading. However, Pegatron emphasizes it won’t withdraw from China and plans to establish new facilities this year.

In recent years, Pegatron has been consistently expanding its global footprint, with expansions ongoing in Taiwan, Mexico, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and other locations.

Currently, approximately 10% of Apple’s iPhone production capacity in India comes from Pegatron, with the vast majority of capacity originating from Foxconn’s iPhone assembly plant located in Karnataka.

Furthermore, Foxconn has the highest share in Apple’s current new iPhone assembly. Among the four iPhone 15 series models, only certain models like iPhone15 and iPhone15 plus are produced by Tata Group in India.

In January, Pegatron announced a USD 12 million investment to form a Malaysian subsidiary for consumer electronics. It’s also expanding its Mexican plant capacity, investing USD 75 million to boost its electric vehicle business.

(Photo credit: Apple)

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On November 9th, EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) giant Wistron, through its Malaysian subsidiary WMMY, disclosed the successful completion of the sale of consumer electronics production facilities in the Selangor and Sungai Way Free Trade Zones.

The company is set to sell the properties, which include factories and land in these two free trade zones, to semiconductor major NXP for approximately 1.85 billion Malaysian Ringgit (equivalent to roughly USD 392million).

Wistron announced that its subsidiary WMMY (Wistron Technology Sdn. Bhd.) signed a “Letter of Offer to Purchase” with the unrelated entity NXP Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. According to Malaysian regulations, when buying or selling a property, the buyer can place a deposit and sign a preliminary contract with the seller.

However, within 14 business days, a formal sales agreement needs to be signed between the buyer and the seller for the transaction to be completed.

Wistron had declared through its subsidiary WMMY back in September of this year that it intended to divest its property (including factories and land) in the Selangor and Sungai Way Free Trade Zones in Malaysia in response to external economic changes and global strategic considerations.

At that time, the specifics of the transaction, including the counterpart and amount, were undetermined. The company had only established that the total transaction amount should not be less than 185 million Malaysian Ringgit (approximately 39.2 million USD). The deal presented by NXP aligns with these conditions, thus facilitating the progress of the factory sale.

Wistron has initiated several factory sales in recent years, including the iPhone assembly plants in Kunshan, China, and India, as well as the consumer electronics plant in Malaysia. The Kunshan facility was sold to Luxshare, a Chinese manufacturer, while the Indian plant was acquired by Tata Group, an Indian electronics corporation. The Malaysian plant, in this instance, is sold to the semiconductor giant NXP, and the transaction is projected to conclude within 14 days.

NXP currently operates six wafer fabs in the United States, the Netherlands, and Singapore, with four assembly and testing facilities situated in Taiwan, China, Thailand, and Malaysia.

The company specializes in producing application processors, communication processors, wireless connectivity SoCs, RF amplifiers, security system ICs, various analog products, and MCUs (microcontrollers).

Wistron’s manufacturing facility in Selangor, Malaysia, is mainly responsible for material fabrication, manufacturing, industrial engineering, production management, mechanisms, quality assurance, and production management.

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(Photo credit: Wistron)

Source to ChinaTimes, according to rumors in the mobile industry, due to increasing uncertainties in the mainland Chinese market, Apple plans to make India one of the first launch markets for its iPhone 15 series and aims to produce the iPhone 15 series simultaneously in India and China. By manufacturing and selling locally in India, Apple hopes to reduce the uncertainties in the Chinese market.

Reports from ICsmart suggest that industry rumors indicate that as mainland China continues to increase regulatory measures, Apple is also accelerating its expansion into India to mitigate uncertainties in the Chinese market. Suppliers have revealed that in the past, the production of new iPhones in India lagged behind China by about a year, but last year, the production gap had narrowed to approximately one month. Apple is now even more determined to expedite the production of the iPhone 15 in India this year, with the goal of achieving near-simultaneous production in both China and India or reducing the production gap to within 10 days.

The report points out that before the iPhone 14, Apple only assembled a small portion of its phones in India, with a shipment schedule lagging behind China by 6 to 9 months. However, this gap was significantly reduced last year. By the end of March this year, 7% of Apple’s iPhones were produced in India. Foreign estimates suggest that by around 2025, the proportion of iPhones manufactured in India could reach 25%.

TrendForce believes India will become the second-largest production site for iPhone

According to TrendForce insights, Apple is indeed aiming to produce more iPhones in India. From the iPhone 14 series, The company manufactured iPhones almost simultaneously in India and China, reducing the initial production gap between the two countries.

If we take a look at iPhone assembly capacity, there is still around 5% in India. Although Apple plans to bring not only assembly but also key component vendors from China to India, supply chain partners are showing a passive attitude toward establishing production sites there, considering India’s policies, languages, cultural factors, and vulnerable infrastructures.

Foreign vendors will face the challenges above, however, as for Indian local vendors, challenges are mainly on technical capabilities, Therefore the most effective way to enter Apple’s supply chain is to acquire companies/factories that are already on the certified list. Just like the Tata Group did.

Also, TrendForce indicates, that with Apple’s intention, PLI, and the following incentive policies, we believe India will gradually become the second-largest production site of the iPhone in the future. However foreign vendors should be willing to suffer higher costs or successfully obtain any form of compensation from Apple, otherwise the transition process will continue to be slow.

The Indian “Economic Times” notes that with the release of the iPhone 15 series this week, the Indian market has the opportunity to be among the first countries for sales. Additionally, it is expected that after December, iPhones manufactured in India will be exported to Europe and the United States, signaling Apple’s progress in diversifying its supply chain. Apple is already the largest smartphone exporter in India.

The report indicates that Apple has raised its annual growth target for sales in over 200 premium retail stores in India for the second and third quarters to nearly 100%. Apple CEO Tim Cook also mentioned in the latest earnings conference call that the company broke its revenue record in India, the world’s third-largest smartphone market, and achieved double-digit sales growth.

(Source: https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20230912005365-260409?chdtv)