TL;DR
- There are three iPhone manufacturers in India: Tata Group (which took over the Wistron Corp. last year), Pegatron, and Foxconn.
- Tata Group has agreed to buy a 60% stake in Pegatron’s Chennai manufacturing plant.
- The Indian technology conglomerate is in talks with Apple to obtain rights to manage around 100 exclusive yet small Apple stores.
Tata Electronics has finalized buying a majority stake in one of Apple’s contract manufacturers in India, Pegatron. Amid rising geopolitical tensions with China, the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple has been seeking alternative manufacturing hubs for its products, primarily the iPhone, and has identified India as a country with immense importance. The number of iPhones being manufactured in the subcontinent is rising every year (7% of the global product in 2023 to 14% in 2024).
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Pegatron’s Chennai Plant Can Manufacture Up To 5 Million iPhones A Year
For now, there are three iPhone manufacturers in India: Tata Group (which took over the Wistron Corp. last year), Pegatron, and Foxconn. However, acquiring a majority stake in Pegatron’s operations reinforces Tata Group’s position as Apple’s key supplier. According to a Reuters report, Tata Group has agreed to buy a 60% stake in Pegatron’s Chennai manufacturing plant, which has around 10,000 employees and can produce five million iPhones annually.
Post The Acquisition, Tata Group Will Have Three iPhone Manufacturing Plants
Once the deal goes through, Tata Group will have three iPhone manufacturing plants in India: one in Karnataka (purchased from Wistron) and two in Tamil Nadu (one in Hosur and another in Chennai). The plant in Hosur could have opened this month had it not been for the major fire that broke out in October 2024. Following the finalization of the acquisition, the companies will request permission from the Competition Commission of India, which oversees such acquisitions.
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Tata’s Retail Division In Talks To Open 100 Exclusive (But Small) Apple Stores
It is clear that Tata Group wants to establish itself as a key Apple supplier in the region. However, that is not everything on the company’s list, as it also plans to enter into the iPhone-maker’s retail business. The Indian technology conglomerate is in talks with Apple to obtain rights to manage around 100 exclusive yet small Apple stores. Each store will be about 500 to 600 square feet; they’ll be distributed well around the country.
For those catching up, Tata is already in the business, as its retail division, Tata Infiniti, manages Croma, the multi-brand electronics store chain in India. On the one hand, Tata could leverage its position as the key manufacturer to provide better deals and offers to consumers. On the other, it will also allow Apple to expand its retail chain in India, which is currently limited to two stores (one in Mumbai and the other in Delhi).
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Given that both companies have a strong over their business and have worked with each other in the past, the collaboration should positively impact their business and presence in the respective geographical region.
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