- Tata Group has begun assembling Apple iPhones at Wistron’s Narasapura factory.
- Tata Group is the fourth company to assemble iPhones in the country, and the first Indian company to do so.
- There is no official confirmation from Tata or Apple regarding initiating iPhone manufacturing.
In order to make more iPhones in the country, the Tata Group is said to have started assembling Apple iPhones after acquiring the Narasapura plant near Bengaluru from Taiwanese giant Wistron, as per a TOI report. This comes days after Apple CEO Tim Cook visited N Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, during the former’s April visit to India for the opening of the much-anticipated Apple Stores.
Tata becomes first Indian iPhone manufacturer
The report mentioned that the Tata Group is manufacturing iPhones at a Wistron facility located near Bengaluru. To be precise, the tech giant will be producing iPhones at Wistron’s Narasapura factory located in the Kolar district of Karnataka. The report also suggests that Tata Group is in the process of acquiring the factory.
There is currently no official confirmation from Tata or Apple regarding the start of iPhone manufacturing operations in India. Assuming the details are accurate, Tata would become the fourth manufacturer for Apple in India, following Foxconn, Pegatron, and Luxshare.
As per the report, the Tata group has acquired Wistron’s operations in India as the Taiwanese giant is withdrawing from its business in the country. The report stated that there is still uncertainty over whether Wistron will make a complete exit from the Bengaluru operations.
Tata to assemble iPhone 15 in India
According to a TrendAsia report, Tata Group has received orders for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus. It was stressed in the paper that while Tata’s share of assembly orders for various iPhone models in 2023 is only 5 per cent, it nevertheless illustrates an escalating trend of Apple’s production migration.
New Apple iPhones plant near Hyderabad
In another development, Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn is investing $500 million (about Rs 4,100 crore) in Hyderabad’s new electronics manufacturing complex, which would become the fourth iPhone manufacturing facility in India. Currently, iPhones are assembled at Pegatron and Foxconn’s facilities in Tamil Nadu and Wistron’s in Karanataka, which Tata has taken over. Luxshare has also entered India to manufacture hearables and wearables. This week, the Foxconn Interconnect Technology facility’s groundbreaking ceremony was held at Kongara Kalan in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Apple is all set to unveil the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max in the second half of 2023. The company has not yet revealed any specific launch timeline, but we can expect it to happen in September or October.
