Apple exported iPhones worth over 1.5 trillion rupees ($17.4 billion) from India in the last fiscal year, according to India’s technology minister, highlighting the company’s push to diversify its manufacturing base beyond China. Tech minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced at a New Delhi briefing that India’s smartphone exports, driven by the surge in iPhone shipments, reached more than 2 trillion rupees in the fiscal year ending March 2025, marking a 54% increase from the prior year.
Sankalp Phartiyal for Bloomberg News:
Apple has rapidly expanded in India after strict Covid shutdowns paralyzed manufacturing at its largest iPhone plant in China. The diversification drive has coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambition to turn the country into a manufacturing hub. India’s subsidies have helped Foxconn Technology Group and the electronics manufacturing unit of Tata Group, which bought Wistron Corp. and Pegatron Corp.’s India factories, scale up local iPhone assembly.
US President Donald Trump’s levies on China — and his threat to impose a further 50% tariff — could push Apple to move more manufacturing toward India and countries in Southeast Asia. Separately, Apple has been stocking up on inventory in anticipation of the tariffs. And it’s steering more devices made in India to the US market, Bloomberg News has reported. The Trump administration announced plans to impose a “reciprocal” tariff of about 27% on India, a lower level than China.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple today still ships roughly four-fifths of its iPhones from China because Tim Cook firmly latched Apple onto China’s CCP teat and his plan for weaning it off is way late and too slow.
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It’s impressive to see Apple’s significant shift towards India for iPhone manufacturing, with exports hitting $17 billion in 2024. This move not only helps Apple diversify its supply chain away from China but also aligns with India’s growing position as a manufacturing powerhouse. The subsidies and incentives provided by India are proving to be a major catalyst for this shift. However, the impact of global trade policies, like Trump’s tariffs, may continue to shape Apple’s strategy in the region. This could set a precedent for more companies to consider India as a key manufacturing base, further boosting the local economy and workforce. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming years.
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