Apple Supplier Wistron To Shut iPhone Assembly In India

Wistron is shutting is iPhone assembly in Kolar, Karnataka and is in the process of selling the facility to Tata Group.

The company is one of three global contract manufacturers to start assembling iPhones in India in 2017. But a leading media house said that Wistron’s struggle with component manufacturing and vendor-managed inventory holding was among the key reasons for the exit.

The assembly orders will be taken over by the cars-to-software conglomerate Tata Group for various iPhone models. The company has reportedly received orders for the new iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models to be launched later this year.

Wistron’s 2.2 million square-foot factory is located 50 kilometres east of Bengaluru.

Apple has been ramping up its efforts in India lately. According to a Bloomberg report, the Cupertino-based company logged revenue of USD 6 billion from India as opposed to USD 4.1 billion in the year through March 2022.

While Apple’s growing emphasis on India becomes evident, company’s CEO Tim Cook was hesitant on comparing it with the Chinese market during Q2 FY23 earnings call. Currently, China is the source of roughly 85 per cent of all iPhones produced by the company.