Apple to expand its supply chain in India through a $1.5 billion Foxconn plant

The iPhone maker continues its process of moving manufacturing out of China, but Donald Trump is demanding it return to the US.

Apple's main contractor is pushing ahead with a $1.5 billion (€1.325 billion) component plant near Chennai, further expanding the iPhone maker's supply chain in India even as Donald Trump demands it return to manufacturing in the US.

Foxconn , which has assembled Apple devices for years, will build a display module plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu , two government officials told the Financial Times . The plant would help the Taiwanese company supply Apple, its biggest customer.

This move represents the US tech giant's latest push into India, to the detriment of China , which remains its largest production base by far. The shift had already begun before the Covid-19 pandemic , which damaged industrial supply chains and prompted the US iPhone maker to diversify into other countries.

However, the shift has become politically controversial since the re-election of Trump, who has clashed with China over tariffs and is trying to pressure Apple to move manufacturing to the US.

"We're treating you very well, tolerating all the plants you've built in China for years," the US president said last week, attacking the Cupertino-based giant and its CEO, Tim Cook . "We're not interested in you building in India."

On Monday, Foxconn announced a $1.5 billion investment in its Indian unit Yuzhan Technology India , via the London Stock Exchange.

The Tamil Nadu state government approved in October a 131.8 billion rupee (1.36 billion euro) investment by Yuzhan in a display module assembly unit at the ESR Oragadam Industrial & Logistics Park, a short distance from the Foxconn plant that makes iPhones near Chennai.

The officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the political and commercial sensitivity of moving Apple's manufacturing to India, explain that the $1.5 billion is earmarked for this plant, adding that it will supply Apple.

The display module of an iPhone sits beneath the glass screen and provides all of the display's functions, including touch, brightness, and color.

Foxconn and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Financial Times had previously reported that Apple intended to source the 60 million iPhones it sells annually in the US from India by the end of next year.

The investment in the display unit near Chennai would be one of the largest to date in India's electronics industry, which has expanded and become a major exporter, aided by production-linked incentives from the Narendra Modi government worth billions of dollars.

Tamil Nadu officials had previously stated that the new display unit plant would create around 14,000 jobs. India accounted for 18% of global iPhone production in 2024, a share that is expected to rise to 32% by 2025 , according to Hong Kong-based firm Counterpoint Research.

India has also become the world's second-largest smartphone manufacturer by volume, after China. Increased production in southern India by Foxconn and Tata Electronics , also an Apple supplier, has been the biggest success of Modi's "Make in India" campaign to create more manufacturing jobs in the world's most populous country.

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