Foxconn CEO Terry Gou has confirmed that the company will soon begin mass production of the iPhone in India. However, which models will be assembled there is still unknown.
Gou’s remarks should help clear up the iPhone-related rumor-filled situation in India. Guo has specifically stated that his company is discussing plant expansion investment terms with the Indian government.
“In the future we will play a very important role in India’s smartphone industry,” Gou said. “We have moved our production lines there.”
Gou made the remarks at the same event where he announced he would be stepping down as Foxconn’s CEO later in 2019.
While we now know Foxconn will begin smartphone assembly in India, as yet it is unknown which model iPhone will be built in the country. A report earlier this month indicated the iPhone X would be the latest model to be built in India.
“For Foxconn, the China market for iPhones is saturated, and labor costs are three times higher compared with India,” said Karn Chauhan, a Gurgaon-based analyst at Counterpoint Research told Bloomberg. “India is still an emerging smartphone market, it has a lot of potential domestically and could serve as an export hub for the region.”
Foxconn is already established in India, as they assemble devices for numerous companies there,. The move would ease Foxconn’s reliance on China, possibly reducing the fallout of any possible U.S.-China trade war.
Assembling iPhones in India would help Apple avoid paying stiff taxes on imports, which are imposed in order to encourage manufacturers to manufacture their goods inside India for sale in the Indian market.