Tata officially becomes first Indian iPhone manufacturer; Wistron approves the sale

In a major boost to the Make-in-India initiative, Tata has agreed on a deal with Wistrom to become the first Indian company to manufacture iPhones. Know all about it.

Tata Group will take over the operations of Wistrom's Karnataka plant where iPhones are manufactured. (AFP)

In yet another proud moment for India, Tata Group has agreed on a deal to purchase Wistrom Corp.'s Karnataka plant, becoming the first Indian iPhone manufacturer. This is the latest move in India's bid to become a global manufacturer catering to not just its citizens, but to the world. iPhones are already been manufactured in India but at the Taiwanese technology company Foxconn's plant. With this move, Tata has officially become the first Indian company to make iPhones in the country.

Tata becomes India's first iPhone maker

According to a Bloomberg report, Wistrom's board approved the sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Ltd for a sum of approximately $125 million. The unit operates an iPhone assembly plant near Bengaluru, a person familiar with the matter said.

Talking about the move, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology of India Rajeev Chandrasekhar posted on X, “Now within just two and a half years,@TataCompanies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from India.”

Tata has been in talks for more than a year to take over the plant, as it seeks to forge closer ties with Apple Inc. The deal advances India's efforts to create local contenders to challenge China's dominance in electronics, which has been jeopardized by political tensions with the US.

Apple's iPhones are mainly assembled by Taiwanese manufacturing giants like Pegatron Corp. and Foxconn Technology Group.

Wistron is one of three Taiwanese iPhone manufacturers in India, along with Foxconn and Pegatron. It has sought to diversify its business beyond thin-margin iPhone manufacturing into areas such as servers, agreeing to sell its iPhone production business in China to a competitor in 2020.

After the deal has been confirmed by both parties, the companies will seek regulatory approvals, Wistron said in a Bloomberg report.

Tata has taken other steps to increase its business with Apple. It has accelerated hiring in its factory in Hosur, near Bengaluru, where it produces iPhone components. That plant stands on several hundred acres of land where Tata could add iPhone manufacturing lines in the coming years. Tata has also announced that it will launch 100 Apple stores in the country of 1.4 billion.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)