Workers work in a factory at the mobile phone factory Rising Stars Mobile India Pvt., a unit of Foxconn in Tamil Nadu, India on July 12, 2019.
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Major Apple supplier Foxconn said there is seeking cooperation in India in new areas like chips and electric vehicles after a visit to the country by its chairman, Liu Young-way.
Apple has moved production away from China after strict Covid-19 restrictions in the country disrupted manufacturing of new model iPhones and other devices, and amid tensions between Beijing and Washington.
In January, India’s trade minister said Apple, which began assembling the iPhone in the country in 2017 Wistron and later Foxconn, wants India to account for up to 25% of production from about 5% to 7% now.
Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry, said Liu had visited India from February 27 to Saturday.
“My trip this week supports Foxconn’s efforts to expand partnerships, meet old friends and make new friends, and seek cooperation in new areas such as the development of semiconductors and electric vehicles,” Liu said in a statement.
Foxconn has ambitious plans to make EVs, and it also wants to make chips.
“On the basis of sharing, collaborating and developing together, Foxconn will continue to communicate with local governments to find the most beneficial development opportunities for the company and all stakeholders,” Liu added.
He did not mention any new concrete investment plans in the country, and Foxconn has not announced anything since the trip.
Apple’s iPhones will soon be assembled at another site in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, and 300 hectares (120 acres) have been set aside to set up a factory, the state government said on Friday.
Currently, iPhones are assembled in India by at least three of Apple’s global suppliers – Foxconn and Pegatron in Tamil Nadu, and Wistron in Karnataka.