Contract manufacturer Pegatron is reportedly in talks to open a second manufacturing facility in India to assemble the “latest iPhones.”
According to Reuters, the Taiwanese manufacturer is in negotiations to lease a second factory near Chennai in order to shift some of its production away from China. This comes just six months after the manufacturer opened its first manufacturing facility in the same area, which is said to have cost $150 million.
While the project’s budgetary implications are unknown, sources say the new facility will most likely be smaller than the first.
Pegatron, while declining to comment, stated that “any acquisition of assets will be disclosed in accordance with regulations.”
The news comes as Apple and its contract manufacturers make a beeline for India to establish a presence. Concerns about growing clashes between the US and China over geopolitical issues drove the move. Furthermore, China’s incessant lockdowns late last year disrupted supply chains as the movement of iPhones from manufacturing facilities to port cities proved difficult.
On the other hand, the move to India has been largely fueled by the Centre’s attractive production-linked incentives (PLIs) designed to boost the local manufacturing ecosystem.
Not only Pegatron, but Apple’s other contract manufacturers, Wistron and Foxconn, have made significant investments in India to expand their production facilities. In comparison to its competitors, Pegatron accounts for 10% of Apple’s iPhone production in India each year, a figure that the Taiwanese manufacturer hopes to increase.
