A lot has been said and done about Apple’s decision to start it’s manufacturing in India at Bangalore.
Quite recently, the news broke out and without much ado, the smartphone giant has already commenced with it’s initial pre – operational activities in the Silicon Valley of India. As a matter of fact, this Bengaluru plant has been set up by its Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp.
If things go as expected, Wistron will assemble units of the iPhone SE starting April this year.
Owing to increased labour prices in China, Apple has formulated it’s cost cutting strategy around relocating it’s Chinese manufacturing units to Indian to ensure optimum utilization of resources at least cost. Not only this, it has also withdrawn or neglected it’s application for tax concessions.
Nonetheless, it was in December that the company submitted it’s comprehensive application stating a slew of demands with the Indian government seeking tax concessions, including lower import and manufacturing duties, and certain policy exemptions as prerequisites for setting up manufacturing operations in the country.
The company has since then been waiting for government’s nod on the same, but to no avail.
Apple unveiled the iPhone SE in March last year.
The four-inch smartphone iPhone SE was launched with a price tag of Rs 39,000 for the 16GB version. Currently, the phone’s retail price is as less as Rs 30,000 at e-commerce portals. Moreover, local manufacturing could help Apple further plummet the devices’ cost, thereby ushering in better profit margins for the company.
Amidst all the strategic changes which the company is undergoing, the backdrop story is clear. The Indian market will soon be replaced by the US market. In other words, India’s smartphone market is burgeoning at a faster-pace, thereby making it palpable for Indian market to overtake the US and consequentially become the second-largest in the world.
The company’s move to switch to Indian lands is suggested as a result of dipping sale numbers in the China Market, which was once the company’s second biggest market.
Earlier this month, several media reports said that Apple was likely to assemble iPhones at a plant being set up by Wistron Corp in the Peenya industrial area near Bengaluru.
Reportedly, last month, the Wistron Corp seeked permission from the Karnataka government to expand and upscale its Bengaluru plant and operations respectively.
