Apple’s supply chain partner Wistron is reported on a lease in India in preparation for iPhone 12 production.
Wistron will likely hire 10,000 employees to work at the Narasapura factory in Bengaluru. Nearly 1,000 of its current employees are already said to be working on the iPhone 12 and manufacturing will begin in October.
The new models will apparently be ready to ship by mid-2021. It looks like these phones are meant for India and local production would serve as a means for Apple to avoid import rights that could be up to 22 percent.
Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo currently dominate the Indian market
Apple has been making smartphones in India since 2017. A while back, Foxconn began producing the iPhone 11 in the country. Local production of the iPhone SE could also begin by the end of the year.
According to a report Pegatron, which is the second largest iPhone assembler, will also set up a plant in India.
Apple also plans to open its first flagship store in the country in 2021.
Increasing production in India would also help Apple reduce its confidence in China where most of its smartphones are currently built.
It is not yet known if the iPhone 12 models, manufactured in India, will also be sold in other countries.
