Foxconn in India has transformed itself from a modest contract manufacturer with only one site in Tamil Nadu to one that is making all the right noises. The Taiwanese firm, widely known as Apple’s largest contract manufacturer and assembler of the legendary iPhone, has big hopes for India.
As it seeks to expand its supply chain operations outside of China, the corporation has repeatedly made news in India for its large investments and collaborations. Not only is the corporation increasing its investment to expand its existing facilities in Tamil Nadu, but it is also diversifying its interests, having recently announced large-scale projects in Telangana and Karnataka.
It has also teamed with Vedanta for chip manufacturing in India and is expanding into the production of wearables and hearables, all while focusing on the electric car sector.
Foxconn stated in its most recent annual report that it plans to create a production line for two-wheeled electric vehicles in India this year.
According to Jain, India is likely to become a sizable EV market of $100 billion+ opportunity by 2030 across the value chain, led by strong domestic demand, a supportive legislative framework, and manufacturer push. This, combined with a robust talent pool and a well-established automotive manufacturing sector, suggests that the region has a high potential to become an EV production centre.
Arjun Malhotra, co-chair of the Electronic Products Innovation Consortium (EPIC) Foundation and founder of HCL, believes Foxconn’s India manufacturing push might put the country back on the hardware map. In recent years, India has shifted its focus to IT services, which he refers to as “low hanging fruit.”
While there are no disputes about Foxconn’s technical capabilities in electronics manufacturing, various questions have been raised concerning its semiconductor intentions, particularly the availability of technology.
Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductors Ltd, a joint venture between Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta and Foxconn, recently signed agreements with two other companies to do research on 28- and 40-nanometer circuits, according to David Reed, CEO of the JV.
He stated that one of the companies is the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), a Belgium-based research and innovation centre, for research on 28-nm chips, which require work to make them high volume manufacturing ready. The second is for full-scale 40-nm production of high-volume chips utilised in both the automotive and non-automotive industries. He did not reveal the name of the second company.
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