Wistron to assemble Apple iPhone 12 in Karnataka: Report

Last month, DH reported Apple supply partner Wistron Corp has commenced hiring employees for its new mobile assembling plant in Narasapura, Kolar 57 Km from Bengaluru.

Wistron, which is said to be investing close to Rs 3,000 crore, has reportedly commenced trial production of iPhones with 1,000 odd employees and is expected to start full-fledged mass production as early as October.

The recruitment process to hire 9,000 more is underway and mostly local Kannada speaking candidates will be preferred to meet the 75% quota fixed by the Karnataka state government.

Now, it has come to light that the Wistron is planning to use the Narasapura plant to assemble iPhone 12 models, which is slated to make the global debut October 2020 launch.

However, the iPhone 12 series mobiles' production will only start in mid-2021, reports Business Standard citing company insiders.

This comes as a huge boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India initiative. It should be noted that the union government notified the PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme in April 2020.

It is aimed to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in mobile phone manufacturing and specified electronic components including Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) units, the government of India states in the official press note.

Furthermore, the PLI scheme includes an extension of the incentive of current 4% to 6% on incremental sales (over the base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year as defined.

Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war, several high profile hardware manufacturers are moving their production bases from mainland China to neighbouring countries such India, Indonesia, Vietnam, among others.

Already, Samsung, Apple supply partners Pegatron, Foxconn, and Wistron along with other mobile manufacturers have applied for the PLI scheme in India.

Last month, Apple iPhone 11 models assembled at the Foxconn's Tamil Nadu plant made their way to retail stores in India.

Must read | Apple's 'Assembled in India' iPhone 11 hits stores

As per the latest reports, Wistron will use its existing Peenya plant, in the western industrial hub in Bengaluru to assemble iPhone SE (2020) series. Currently, it is producing iPhone 7 models. Previously, it used to produce iPhone 6S, iPhone 6, and iPhone SE (1st gen) before that since 2017. Whereas, Foxconn is producing iPhone XR along with the iPhone 11 in Tamil Nadu.

Must read | Apple iPhone SE (2020) review: Dainty but Powerful!

With the local assembling of iPhones, Apple will be able to save import duties and pass on the benefits to the consumers. Currently, Indian buyers pay close to Rs 20,000 extra on select premium iPhones compared to other global markets due to high customs duty.

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