Apple Manufacturer Pegatron Starts Producing iPhone 14 in India Amidst China's Production Drop

Apple has begun adding more iPhone 14 products in India through manufacturer Pegatron Corp.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron Corp. has been added as an additional production source of the latest iPhone 14 model alongside one of Apple's biggest suppliers alongside, Foxconn and Wistron Corp. Bloomberg reports that the added Pegatron factory is also being boosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's financial incentives program.

According to BBC News, Apple has already transferred five percent of its iPhone 14 to India and plans to see the country producing at least a quarter of all its iPhones by 2025. Apple is currently in the process of diversifying its supply chains by adding more manufacturers outside of its main source, China.

India is the newest addition to Apple's other manufacturing countries, all of which are under manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron, including China, the Czech Republic, Malaysia, Thailand, and South Korea.

China's Drop in Production of Apple Products Due to COVID Surge

As of now, Apple still relies heavily on China for the majority of its iPhone production. However, Apple has added manufacturers in India as a plus-one strategy to make up for the decline that its manufacturers in China see due to COVID-19.

Reuters reports that Apple iPhone manufacturers in China will be seeing a drop of 30% in production rate due to the COVID outbreak and strict health protocols toward factory workers. Considering China's response to COVID, the management of their local factories aims to prioritize health and employee safety instead of Apple's supply chain. Foxconn's factory, located in Zhengzhou, China, was recently under lockdown, with some of their employees even attempting to flee the factory.

Thus, the move to add India as one of Apple's manufacturing sites comes as a way to diversify from their central manufacturer and, at the same time, ensure a steady supply chain for the latest iPhone 14.

India's Demand for Apple's iPhone 14

Additionally, the move comes after the demand for the iPhone 14 increased among citizens of India. According to Inc42, stores all across Delhi NCR have been complaining about the diminishing stocks of the latest iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max since its release. Due to the lack of production, black market sales of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max from alternate supply chains have reportedly increased.

However, to address India's issue, the Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, stated in a past tweet that they have spoken to Apple regarding the issue and are looking to improve their country's production of Apple products.

Thus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi weighed in on the production issue by supporting Apple's manufacturing solution in India, offering Pegatron a financial incentives program to increase iPhone exports.

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Andi C.