Tata plant fire could delay Apple's iPhone production in India
Apple may rely on in its factories in China to produce iPhones.
Update (Oct. 4): Tata Electronics said on Thursday that it will resume some of its operations at the plant.
Apple has slowly been shifting production of its devices from China to India to reduce dependencies. But, due to a recent fire incident in late September, the progress made towards the shift might have been dragged back a bit.
One of the companies Apple partnered with to produce in India, Tata Group, reportedly had a fire breakout at its plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, which lasted for several days and rendered the plant closed indefinitely.
The plant produced back panels and other iPhone components, which it supplied only to Tata's assembly factory and Foxconn. But with it non-functional now, Reuters says this could affect production of old iPhones by up to 15%.
Acquah Nana Yeboah
Apple started manufacturing its iPhones in India in 2022, exporting $2.5B worth of iPhones from India as part of its diversification from China in its second year. The company scaled up its domestic production to include its latest high-end iPhone release, the iPhone 16 Pro model.
Techl0y earlier reported that India now accounts for 14% of iPhone production with Tata, one of Apple's OEM manufacturers having only recently begun its production of the iPhone. However, if the plant is not operational soon, those numbers may go down affecting India's overall iPhone production.
Louis Eriakha
To meet the demands, Apple might have to rely on China a bit more than it would like. It could start creating extra shifts in its factories in China and adding production lines too. Or, it could look elsewhere for its supplies.
Notably, there are rumours that this might not affect Apple as much because the company may have up to 8 weeks' worth of back panels and other components for their iPhones in stock.
Although the cause of the fire is unknown, authorities and sources have speculated that it originated from the part of the factory where chemicals are used.
Ultimately, this outbreak could have a major impact on Apple's growth in India particularly due to its timing. India is nearing its festive season when iPhones could be in high demand. Apple might have to increase the costs of the iPhone because of the costs of importing required resources, despite selling for significantly lower in the country or it may sell at a significant loss till it finds a solution.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
