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Apple ( AAPL ) fast-tracking India expansion plans amid tariff war

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New Foxconn and Tata plants to produce iPhone 16 and older

models

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Foxconn plant expected to create 50,000 jobs at full

capacity

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI, April 29 (Reuters) - A new plant making

iPhones in southern India has started production and another

will begin shipments in May, as Apple ( AAPL ) looks to boost

manufacturing beyond its tariff-hit main manufacturing hub,

China, sources said.

Apple ( AAPL ) is positioning India as an alternative manufacturing

base to China as a trade war flares between Washington and

Beijing, with U.S. President Donald Trump's more than 100%

tariffs on China threatening supply chain disruptions and

stoking fears of a rise in iPhone prices.

The Trump administration has so far spared China-made

electronics from tariffs, but Washington has signaled that some

levies could come in the coming weeks.

A new Tata Electronics plant in Hosur in south India's Tamil

Nadu state started operations in recent days to make older

iPhone models on one assembly line, one source said.

Another $2.6 billion plant run by Taiwan's Foxconn

that is under construction in Bengaluru, Karnataka state, will

also start initial operations with one assembly line within

days, according to four sources, including one government

official.

One source said around 300-500 iPhone units per hour can be

made at the factory where, according to another, iPhone 16 and

16e models will be produced. The plant is expected to create

50,000 jobs at full capacity when construction is fully

completed, which is expected by December 2027.

Tata declined to comment, while Apple ( AAPL ) and Foxconn did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

China accounts for more than 75% of iPhone production

globally, while India contributes to about 18%, research firm

Counterpoint estimates. Apple ( AAPL ) is taking urgent steps to move

production of most of its U.S.-sold iPhones to factories in

India by the end of 2026, Reuters has reported.

Apple ( AAPL ) in recent weeks has stepped up production in India to

beat U.S. tariffs, shipping some 600 tons of iPhones worth $2

billion to the U.S. in March, a monthly record for both Tata and

Foxconn, with the latter alone accounting for smartphones worth

$1.3 billion.

Tata, a relatively new Apple ( AAPL ) supplier, has quickly emerged

as a key Indian contractor. With the new facilities, Foxconn and

Tata will together operate a total of five iPhone factories from

India.