Apple supplier Wistron stops making iPhones in India, report says

“Wistron has not been able to make any money from the Apple business in India. It has tried to negotiate with Apple for higher margins, but being a smaller player as compared to Foxconn and Pegatron globally, it did not have the necessary leverage,” ET report said.

In India, Apple iPhones till now were manufactured by three major Apple suppliers – Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron. According to Bloomberg, India accounted for seven percent of Apple’s iPhone production in 2022.

Wistron entered the Indian market in 2008. It started off by establishing a repair facility for various devices it manufactured, including PCs, laptops, and servers. The company expanded its operations in 2017 and started manufacturing iPhones for Apple.

A TrendForce report earlier this month said that Apple may manufacture iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models in India. It stated that the handsets will be assembled by Tata Group. The report further added that Tata’s entry into the iPhone assembly business means Wistron’s exit from the country. Not to miss, Tata Group has already purchased Wistron’s iPhone plant in Bengaluru. The latest ET report aligns with these previous developments. It says that Wistron being a small player compared to Foxconn and Pentagon, encountered difficulties in achieving profitability. The report cites an executive saying that Wistron lacked effective systems to gauge demand and ship products to various units.

Additionally, Wistron faced management challenges and reportedly struggled to retain workers at its facility in Kolar, India. As per the report, differences in work culture between China and India also contributed to the challenges faced by the company. 

Meanwhile, another Apple supplier Foxconn has bought a huge tract of land on the outskirts of Indian tech hub Bengaluru. The company has purchased a 1.2 million-square-metre (13 million-square-foot) land in Devanahalli, near the airport for Indian tech hub Bengaluru.