TAIPEI, Taiwan: Reuters reported that after winning an order to manufacture wireless AirPods earphones for Apple for the first time, Taiwanese company Foxconn is planning to build a factory in India.
As AirPods are currently made by various Chinese suppliers, the deal between Apple and Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and assembler of some 70% of all iPhones, highlights the overall direction to shift production away from China.
Foxconn will invest more than $200 million in the new India AirPod plant in the southern state of Telangana, the report said, adding that for some months, Foxconn officials had debated whether to assemble AirPods due to their relatively lower profit margins, but decided to do so as the deal will “reinforce engagement” with Apple.
Foxconn and fellow Taiwanese rivals, such as Wistron and Pegatron, are in competition to win more orders from Apple, the world’s most valuable company.
Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd., a subsidiary of the company, aims to construct a manufacturing plant in Telangana in the second half of 2023, which is to begin production by the end of 2024.
