Tata Becomes India’s First iPhone Manufacturer as Wistron Approves Sale

India’s Tata Group has achieved another significant milestone as it secures a deal to acquire Wistrom Corp.’s Karnataka plant, marking its position as the inaugural Indian iPhone manufacturer. This development is part of India’s ongoing efforts to establish itself as a global manufacturing hub, catering not only to its domestic market but also to international demands. While iPhones are already being produced in India at Foxconn’s plant, Tata’s acquisition solidifies its status as the first Indian company to manufacture iPhones within the country.

Tata becomes India’s first iPhone manufacturer

According to a Bloomberg report, Wistrom’s board approved the sale of Wistro’s InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd for about $125 million. The unit operates from an iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru, a person familiar with the matter said.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India’s Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, posted on X about the move: “Now in just two and a half years, @TataCompanies will start manufacturing iPhones in India for domestic and international markets from India.”

Tata has been negotiating for more than a year to take over the factory as it seeks to strengthen relations with Apple Inc. The deal boosts India’s efforts to create local rivals to challenge China’s dominance in electronics, which has been threatened by political tensions. with the United States.

Apple’s iPhones are mainly assembled by Taiwanese manufacturing giants such as Pegatron Corp. and Foxconn Technology Group.

Wistron is one of the three Taiwanese iPhone manufacturers in India along with Foxconn and Pegatron. It has sought to diversify its business beyond thin iPhone manufacturing into areas such as servers and has agreed to sell its iPhone production in China to a competitor in 2020.

Once both parties confirm the deal, the companies will seek regulatory approval, Wistron said in a Bloomberg report.

Tata has taken other steps to increase its business with Apple. It has ramped up hiring at its factory in Hosur, near Bengaluru, where it makes iPhone components. The factory stands on several hundred hectares of land, where Tata could add iPhone manufacturing lines in the coming years. Tata has also announced that it will open 100 Apple stores in the country of 1.4 billion.

(Courtesy of Bloomberg)