Apple has started exporting enclosures for the production of its products from India to countries such as China and Vietnam, according to Digi Times Asia. It is a significant move for the iPhone maker and a massive boost for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in diversification of supply chains to avoid cases of single points of failure. Diversification of supply chains has been further fueled by the United States’ Trump administration’s efforts to curb Chinese monopoly.
According to reports, Indian suppliers are manufacturing enclosures for the MacBook, the iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, and Apple Pencil. The enclosures, also being referred to as “mechanical components” are being shipped to the plants in China and Vietnam for final assembly. It is unclear whether the components are also being used at Apple plants in India which assemble various iPhone models and AirPods.
More Indian companies to likely join Apple’s top suppliers list
In 2024, Apple expanded its production capacity in India by onboarding various suppliers, which include:
- US-based manufacturing company Jabil produces AirPods components in Pune
- Indian based manufacturer Argus produces MacBook components in Hubbali, Karnataka
- Indian based Motherson Group produces iPhone enclosures
Further, Jabil and Aequs have recently added Apple Watch and Apple Pencil components manufacturing.
On an annual basis, Apple releases a list of top 200 suppliers and the most recent report included a mention of Jabil. In South Asia, the iPhone maker reportedly has 14 suppliers. The upcoming top suppliers list is expected to include more Indian suppliers, considering the increase in supply of components from India to other countries.
Apple is an almost $4 trillion valued company and its consistent product sales figures show that it is an important company for India which wants to increase manufacturing for both domestic and international markets. The iPhone maker is also investing $500 billion in the US over the next four year, it would be interesting to see if the company makes a similar investment in India.
