Apple has started the production of its flagship iPhone 13 in India at its contract manufacturing partner Foxconn’s plant near Chennai, a move that will help deepen the US smart phone major’s presence in the world’s second-largest smartphone market and likely to grow its market share to record levels.
“We are excited to begin making iPhone 13—with its beautiful design, advanced camera systems for stunning photos and videos, and the incredible performance of the A15 Bionic chip—right here in India for our local customers,” an Apple India spokesperson told in an interview.
Experts say widening local manufacturing speeds up the go-to-market for Apple with better control of the supply chain. It also offers the option of investing the cost savings into aggressive marketing initiatives, through partners, especially during the crucial festive season, moves that have contributed significantly to its growing share.
Driven by wider local manufacturing backed by aggressive marketing to tap into strong demand, Apple was among the fastest-growing brands in India in 2021 with shipments growing 108 on year to a record of 5 million units, or a roughly 4% market share, said, the market trackers.
And with Pegatron starting to make iPhone 12 locally from this month, and the launch of iPhone SE 2022, analysts expect 2022 to be an even stronger year for the company. CMR said that over the past four years, Apple’s share of made-in-India iPhones has grown 15 times, and the company now exports 75% of the phones that it locally produces.
Apple is contributing to almost 13% of the mobile handset volumes exported from India in Q4 2021, as per data from Counterpoint. This puts Apple as the second-largest smart phone exporter from India, after Samsung, with 78%.