Will we now get to buy cheaper iPhones in India?
It seems likely.
While Apple, as a brand, has always been one to maintain a steep price, Indians who buy Apple products in the country have always had to pay more than others for their purchases. According to a 2016 report by NDTV, Apple products in India have had some of the highest prices in the world because of high import duties. Well, perhaps we won’t have to import iPhones anymore now.
According to various media reports, Apple’s Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron is setting up a plant at Peenya in Bangalore to manufacture, or assemble iPhones for the Cupertino based tech giant. The company on February 2 received permission from the Karnataka government to have phones assembled in the state. Industry sources say production at the plant will start as early as April 2017.
As of now, import duties on phones in India is 12.5 per cent, so phones manufactured and sold in India are now likely to be that much cheaper.
Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s information and technology minister, welcomed Apple’s move to start production in Bangalore.
“Apple’s intentions to manufacture in Bangalore will foster cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally,” Kharge said according to the Wall Street Journal.
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| Photo: Indiatoday.in |
While the manufacturing of iPhones is something that fits right into Prime Minister Modi’s Make in India campaign, Apple has maintained, according to a Financial Times report, that it will begin work only if they are offered concessions. This will allow them to avoid import duty on components and exempt them on requiring to source one-third of the parts from Indian suppliers.
In 2016, Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones into India and even though it is a huge number on its own, the figure only ranked 10th among vendors in the December quarter. In reality, Apple accounts for less than two per cent of shipments in India as of now.
The reasons for Apple’s comparatively lower sales in the subcontinent (where cheap phones still reign large) can, of course, be attributed to its steep mark-up; it is a problem that can very well be avoided if production is shifted to India.
According to Financial Times, the average smartphone in India costs $145, compared with $400 for the average iPhone in India. The battle to win the Indian market will be still an uphill one for the tech giant.