Tata Group is in advanced talks with Taiwan’s Pegatron, opens new tab to form a partnership to run an iPhone assembly plant the Indian company is building in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Reuters reports Thursday citing “two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.”
Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra for Reuters:
Tata is building the iPhone assembly plant in Hosur city, which will be its second such facility in the country. The move comes as Apple, opens new tab and its contract manufacturers are rapidly expanding their India operations.
Tata is in talks to form a joint venture with Pegatron for the Hosur plant – its first such initiative – that would help speed up its plans to start manufacturing, said the two sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private and the deal has not been closed.
The Taiwanese firm would provide technical and engineering support at the plant, the sources said.
Tata’s success is crucial to Apple’s ambitions. The U.S. firm has been diversifying beyond China following COVID-19 disruptions and geopolitical tensions and the proportion of iPhones made in India is expected to reach 20-25% this year, from 12-14% in 2023, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Tata’s new plant with Pegatron is expected to have 20 lines for iPhone assembly, one of the sources said, adding that the Indian firm would hold a majority stake in the joint venture.
MacDailyNews Take: Every little bit Apple does to get out from under the CCP thumb is a positive step.
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