Indian minister says Apple will start making iPhones in Bangalore
Indian minister confirms Apple s plans to begin making iPhones at a new plant in Bangalore, with operations reportedly commencing as early as April.
By Eileen Yu for By The Way | February 4, 2017 -- 16:51 GMT (08:51 PST) | Topic: Smartphones
An Indian government official has revealed plans for Apple to start manufacturing iPhones at a new facility in Bangalore, which may commence operations as early as April.
Priyank Kharge, Minister of IT for the Indian state of Karnataka, said on Twitter that Apple s plans would "foster cutting-edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development" for Bangalore. The state also issued a statement welcoming the iPhone maker s move to begin "initial manufacturing operations".
Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron had been roped in to drive the production in Bangalore, which Kharge said would make the Apple smartphone for the local market. The minister told Bloomberg he met with the company s representatives last month, confirming that production at the plant would begin by end-April.
Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones into India last year, while some 78.3 million units of the smartphone were sold globally in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The vendor s other manufacturing partner, Foxconn, operated several facilities in its domestic market China, with Apple generating half of its parent Hon Hai Precision Industry s business.
India bypassed US last year to become the world s second-largest mobile market, after China. It was estimated to have more than 300 million smartphone users, with this number projected to hit 810 million by 2021.