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https://scmp.com/tech/gear/article/3048717/apple-supplier-wistron-said-assemble-key-iphone-component-new-india-plant Tech
Apple supplier Wistron said to assemble key iPhone component in new India plant
- Wistron’s second iPhone plant in Bangalore is expected to become operational by April
- Bigger rival Foxconn already assembles printed circuit boards in India for its locally made iPhone XR model
Wistron Corp’s assembly of printed circuit boards in India will be a first for the electronics contract manufacturer, which already makes Apple’s low-cost iPhone SE model as well as the iPhone 6S and 7 models in Bangalore. Photo: Reuters
Taiwan’s Wistron Corp plans to assemble printed circuit boards (PCBs) for iPhones at its new plant in southern India, two sources said, highlighting Apple’s push to expand manufacturing in the world’s second largest smartphone market.
The local assembly of PCBs by Wistron’s India unit will be a first for the electronics contract manufacturer, which began making Apple’s low-priced iPhone SE model in the southern technology hub of Bangalore in 2017. It currently assembles the iPhone 6S and 7 models there as well.
A PCB is a bed for key components such as processors, memory and wireless chip sets that are the heart of an electronic device. Once assembled, or populated with components, PCBs account for about half the cost of a smartphone.
Wistron’s second iPhone plant, some 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Bangalore, is expected to become operational by April, the sources said, adding that it will make iPhone 7 and 8 models, some of which will be exported.
The facility in India will be capable of producing up to eight million smartphones annually, the sources said.
The plan is part of Wistron’s 30 billion rupee (US$422.1 million) investment proposal submitted to the Karnataka state government in 2018.
Wistron’s bigger rival Foxconn Technology Group, which began making iPhone XR models in India last year, already assembles PCBs for those devices locally. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s biggest electronics contract manufacturer and serves as Apple’s main assembler of iPhones.
The deepening of PCB assembly in India will help Cupertino, California-based Apple save on import taxes on smartphone components, levied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to boost local manufacturing and create new jobs.
On Saturday, India said in its federal budget that it will from April begin taxing imports of populated PCBs at a higher 20 per cent rate, from the previous rate of 10 per cent.
Apple declined to comment. Wistron did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple, which still has most of its iPhones manufactured in China, has gradually moved to expand production in other countries, as Washington and Beijing wage a disruptive battle over trade and technology.
In India, a market with 1.1 billion wireless connections and about 480 million smartphones, Apple’s premium devices have proven too costly for many consumers. The company’s market share by shipment volumes is just over 1 per cent, though it was among the fastest growing smartphone brands in India in the quarter to December last year, according to market research firm Counterpoint.
India remains largely dependent on China for supplies of smartphone parts such as cells, display panels, camera modules and PCBs.
The coronavirus outbreak in China could cause a delay in Wistron and Apple’s plans for India, one of the sources said. The epidemic, which has killed more than 250 so far, threatens to disrupt India’s production of smartphones if it continues to spread, Reuters reported previously.