Apple has been investing heavily in India for several years, not only to open its own stores (which are not scheduled to open until 2022 at the earliest), but also to relocate production from China, although at the moment it is only manufacturing in this country the oldest models such as the iPhone 11 and the entry model to the iPhone range with the iPhone SE.
Thanks to these movements, the Cupertino-based company has achieved increase its market share in the country. In 2017, Apple sold in India just 5% of all iPhones it produced in the country, a figure that has increased to 70% in 2021.
Apple started manufacturing in India for meet local demand and export the rest to neighboring countries. However, today, the majority of iPhones that are made in the country, stay in the country. A couple of years ago, India was left with 30% of production, a figure that has increased to 70%.
The iPhone occupies about 15% of the high-end smartphone market in India, where Xiaomi, Oppo and Samsung top the ranking. Thanks to this increase in demand, according to various analysts, Apple's revenue in India will go from 2.000 billion in 2020 to 3.000 billion in 2021 this year.
Apple is trying to reach agreements to be able to acquire the necessary components for the manufacture of the iPhone range directly from suppliers from the country instead of importing them from China and is in talks with Tata Electronics, a new company in the Tata group, known for its off-road vehicles.
At the moment, the manufacture of the new models still reserved for China. Once the iPhone 13 is released, the Indian production lines will likely switch to making the iPhone 12.