Japan-based TDK will set up its first manufacturing facility in India, supplying battery cells for iPhones made locally. The latest development highlights Apple suppliers' accelerating pace in investing in India.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for Electronics and IT of India, said on X on December 4 that TDK is setting up a 180-acre facility in Manesar, Haryana, to make battery cells for made-in-India iPhones, with 1,000 new jobs expected to be created and domestic value addition to increase.
According to Business Standard, which first revealed the development citing unnamed sources a day earlier, the cells will be supplied to Sunwoda Electronics for battery assembly, and commercial production is expected to begin in the next 12-18 months.
Although India is the second-largest handset producer after China, Business Standard reported that it is estimated that handset manufacturers have to spend INR55 billion (US$660 million) a year to import battery cells. Once TDK begins to supply battery cells in India, the domestic value addition for locally-made iPhones may increase further by 3% as cells account for 70% of the cost of the battery, and the battery accounts for 4% of an iPhone.
Chandrasekhar's statement came after Foxconn announced an investment of US$1.6 billion to expand manufacturing capacities in India in late November.
According to an Apple supplier list released earlier this year, its number of suppliers in India has increased from 11 in 2021 to 14 in 2022. Besides, data from the Bureau of Indian Standards shows that Apple added an Indian battery assembly, Navitasys, assembling iPhone batteries in mid-2023. The company also offers batteries for high-end Samsung Electronics smartphones.
TDK facility location for iPhones | |
Country | Location |
China | Fujian, Guangdong, Liaoning, Shandong |
Japan | Akita, Iwate, Nagano, Yamagata, Yamanashi |
US | Wisconsin |
Source: Apple, December 2023
