By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 23rd, 2024
India is the world’s second-largest market for smartphones and with the limited presence of Apple in the region, the move to add iPhone 14 production is considered one of the most strategic steps to dominate the market.
American technology giant and smartphone maker, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is on track to begin the manufacturing of its latest iPhone 14 models in India. As reported by CNBC, the company’s biggest manufacturer, Foxconn Technology Co Ltd (TPE: 2354) will be in charge of manufacturing the phones at one of its factories in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai.
Today as the market opened Apple stock is trading higher, with a 1.34% increase over the previous closing. Its current price is $152.44.
The plan to switch its assembly line to India is one of its strategic moves to regain a bigger market share of the Indian smartphone ecosystem.
“The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” the company said in a statement.
iPhone is not new to the Indian market as it notably manufactures its older phone brands in the country since 2017. The company will sell the produced phones locally, while also extending the marketing to other renowned global markets. Apple’s grip in India is weak and accounts for just 3.8% of the total market size.
The production base in the country will be a step up for the company to maintain its lead as the phone maker that sells the most luxury segment as predicted by JPMorgan. As far as the Indian market is concerned, competitors like Xiaomi and China have continued to dominate.
“Apple has a strong momentum in India. India is among the 20+ countries in the world where the premiumization trend has just started,” Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC.
Apple iPhone 14 Production in India: Models for Dominating
India is the world’s second-largest market for smartphones and with the limited presence of Apple in the region, the move to add iPhone 14 production is considered one of the most strategic steps to dominate the market.
The iPhone 14 models are a product whose advanced capabilities will speak for themselves. However, having a homegrown unit in the market may appease more of the target users, thus making it easier to sell the products in the country.
While China will still maintain the tag as the most prolific region for iPhone manufacturing, JPMorgan analysts are predicting that by 2025, as much as 25% of all iPhones will be produced out of India. While the iPhone 14 starts at 79,900 rupees ($980) in India at this time, there is no idea if the production of the phones in India will lower the price over time.
China enjoys a unique incentive as one of the biggest markets and manufacturers of the iPhone as prices were not hiked, just like the US with this latest iPhone 14 release as reported earlier by Coinspeaker. With India being pushed in this light, the country and its consumers may also be positioned to enjoy this incentive in the near future.