Foxconn To Invest $700 Million In New Plant Near Bengaluru Airport, To Manufacture iPhone Parts, EV Components

Apple supplier Foxconn is reportedly planning to invest $700 million in a new production plant in India.

The move is part of a growing trend of manufacturers shifting away from China amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The Taiwanese manufacturing giant plans to build the plant on a 300-acre site near the airport in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka.

The factory will produce iPhone parts and may also assemble Apple’s handsets. Additionally, Foxconn may use the site to produce parts for its electric vehicle business, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The investment is expected to create approximately 100,000 jobs and is one of Foxconn's largest single outlays to date in India.

It also highlights how China risks losing its position as the world's largest producer of consumer electronics as Apple and other US brands are encouraging their Chinese-based suppliers to explore alternative locations such as India and Vietnam.

The pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine have accelerated the rethinking of the global supply chain, which could reshape the way global electronics are produced.

Foxconn's Zhengzhou plant, which currently employs approximately 200,000 people and is the company's largest iPhone manufacturing facility, recently experienced a drop in output due to Covid-related disruptions.

This has prompted Apple to reconsider its reliance on China for its supply chain.

Foxconn's decision is the latest indication that suppliers may relocate their production capacity out of China much faster than previously anticipated.

Once completed, Foxconn's new factory in India could significantly improve component supply in India and potentially boost the country's share of iPhone assembly to 10-15 per cent from its current level of under 5 per cent.

The plans could still change as Foxconn is in the process of finalising investment and project details, according to the report.