‘Made In India’ IPhones Begin To Make Their Way To European Markets As Apple Looks To India As An Export Hub

iPhones manufactured by Apple in India have begun making their way to European markets, Economic Times has reported. The devices are manufactured in Bengaluru under contract by Wistron Corp's India which first started assembling iPhones in the country back in 2016.

At present iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 are being exported in quantities of under 100,000 units a month according to Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research. He said, “The exports have begun a few months ago to European markets.”

“This move boosts the government's Make in India plan and is another step in the iconic smartphone company’s efforts of making India an export hub,” people involved in the development said, adding that this would cement India's position as an attractive destination for foreign investment both towards domestic market and exports.

70-80 per cent of the facility’s capacity is being used to service exports, senior executives at the Bengaluru factory said.

Local iPhone manufacturing in India will help avoid import duties and scaling up of manufacturing operations will help provide flexibility in pricing to the global tech giant.

The Indian mobile market is extremely price sensitive and has lately been dominated by cheaper phones by Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and Oneplus. Apple’s current market share in India sits at barely 1 per cent by volume and about 3 per cent by value.