Foxconn Shifting Some iPhone 12 Production Away From China To India

China’s already eroding reputation as the ‘world’s factory’ has taken another hit. Taiwan manufacturer Foxconn is set to shift some of its iPhone 12 production away from China to India, Nikkei Asia reported.

Up to 10% of Foxconn’s iPhone 12 production will be moved to a factory in Tamil Nadu, a southern state in India, the report added. This would mean that the phone would no longer be exclusively produced in China, which faces increasingly stiff competition from India and Vietnam.

Foxconn has long based most of its operations in China, but increasing labour costs and deepening US-China tensions has prodded it to look elsewhere. Understanding this, India has deftly exploited the situation by tempting major smartphone manufacturers with attractive subsidies.

All iPhones are manufactured by three Taiwanese firms: Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron. Foxconn already makes older iPhone models in India, while Pegatron and Wistron have plans to expand there, Nikkei Asia said.

But India isn’t the only beneficiary of this larger shift. Foxconn will begin producing iPads in Vietnam this year – something it previously did only in China. Furthermore, Pegatron set up shop in Vietnam last year in March.

It isn’t like Beijing is unaware of the problem. A top Chinese leader recently opined on the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the country’s manufacturing sector.