iPhone maker Apple will start producing wireless earphones AirPods at Foxconn’s Hyderabad factory, according to sources.
Foxconn has approved an investment of US$400 million (approximately Rs 3,325 crore) in the Hyderabad factory, which is expected to start mass production in December 2024.
“AirPods will be manufactured at Foxconn’s Hyderabad factory. The factory is expected to start mass production in December,” a source told PTI.
This information was confirmed by another person familiar with the matter.
Email inquiries to Apple and Foxconn received no response.
AirPods will be the second product category to be made in India after the iPhone.
Apple’s AirPods lead the global TWS (True Wireless Stereo) headphone market.
It leads the global TWS market with about 36% market share in the December 2022 quarter, according to research firm Canalys.
It was followed by Samsung with a market share of 7.5%, Xiaomi with 4.4%, Boat with 4%, and Oppo with 3%.
Xiaomi started producing TWS this year at the Optiemus Electronics factory in Noida, India.
Meanwhile, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant sees the potential to invest billions of dollars in India if it can fully implement its plans, a senior company official said.
Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) Chairman and Chief Executive Liu Yang said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Friday that the company’s Indian unit has an annual turnover of close to $10 billion (about Rs 83,129 crore). , and India has great investment potential.
“Foxconn’s annual revenue is 200 billion U.S. dollars (approximately 1,662,754 crore rupees). From the perspective of the potential market size in India, if we can fully implement our plan in India, the investment of several billion dollars is just the beginning.” India operates around nine parks.
“The total size will be equivalent to more than 500 football fields. We have more than 30 factories in India. The annual turnover and business size is about 10 billion US dollars (about Rs. 83,129 crore). We have more than 20 dormitories that can be Accommodate dozens of people and thousands of employees working at Foxconn India,” Liu said.
Questions about India have been popping up in investors’ conference calls since the past two quarters, a sign of positive energy in the country, he said. “I said before that our capital expenditure this year will increase compared to last year. This outlook has not changed,” Liu said.
In his introduction, Liu pointed out that since Foxconn entered India, its revenue, number of employees, and investment scale have all grown exponentially.
Mr. Liu said that Foxconn is currently mainly engaged in the assembly of information and communication technology. In the future, Foxconn will actively deploy work in the field of key components to enhance its competitiveness in India.
In addition to its existing operations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Foxconn will also deploy in Karnataka, Telangana and other states.
Foxconn stated in its financial report that Foxconn will plan and establish industrial parks through close cooperation with the central and local governments, and optimize the business environment in terms of infrastructure, policies and laws.
Svlook
