Foxconn in India has gone from being a quiet contract producer with only a facility in Tamil Nadu to being one that’s making all the correct noises.
The Taiwanese firm, which is greatest generally known as the biggest contract producer for Apple and assembler of the long-lasting iPhone, has formidable plans for India.
The corporate has been persistently making headlines in India for its huge investments and partnerships, because it seems to be to diversify its provide chain operations outdoors of China.
Not solely is the corporate doubling down on its funding to develop its present facility in Tamil Nadu, however additionally it is diversifying investments and lately has introduced big-ticket tasks in Telangana and Karnataka.
It has additionally partnered with Vedanta for chip manufacturing in India and is venturing into producing wearables and hearables too, whereas having its eyes firmly set on the electrical car market.
In its newest annual report, Foxconn stated it could additionally look to ascertain a manufacturing line in India this yr for two-wheeled electrical autos.
“Foxconn has ambitions to not solely be a part producer but additionally enterprise into large-scale manufacturing within the EV area,” Neil Shah, vice chairman of analysis at Counterpoint Analysis, advised ET. “Its ambition is to show the dinosaur-like automotive trade right into a extra new-age, quick trade like smartphones. Mobility is a brand new area for Foxconn. What they’re doing with EV manufacturing is the BOL (build-operate-localise) coverage. They wish to turn out to be the Android of the EV ecosystem.”
Deepak Jain, companion at Bain & Co, stated India’s giant client market, beneficial demographics and authorities initiatives like “Make in India” have attracted a number of corporations to put money into manufacturing amenities throughout the nation. “Future strategic significance of India to those gamers is more likely to be contingent on sustained infrastructure improvement, ease of doing enterprise, authorities incentives and the power to deal with challenges throughout logistics, provide chain effectivity, and expertise pool up-skilling and retention,” he stated.
India is anticipated to turn out to be a sizeable EV market ($100 billion+ alternative by 2030 throughout worth chain), pushed by robust home demand, beneficial regulatory atmosphere and the push by the producers, Jain stated. This, coupled with a powerful expertise base and well-established automotive manufacturing sector, signifies robust potential to turn out to be an EV manufacturing hub.
Foxconn didn’t reply to a request for touch upon its India plans.
Regional manufacturing
Foxconn is aggressive in desirous to develop its footprint in India. Its chairman, Younger Liu, visited India twice in lower than a yr, reaffirming that India is a crucial vacation spot for the corporate. Following his second go to in March, Foxconn introduced investments of $500 million (greater than Rs 4,000 crore) in Telangana and Rs 8,000 crore in Karnataka.
“Foxconn is like this octopus that’s spreading its tentacles in India,” an official who didn’t want to be named advised ET. “They’re in all places, and so they wish to do every thing. At any given level there are a number of conversations happening with Foxconn on issues starting from battery swapping, client electronics, chip manufacturing, EVs, wearables and extra.”
The brand new world pattern is regional manufacturing and Foxconn is shifting with that. The corporate established the BOL enterprise mannequin two years in the past, anticipating to create the “triple-win” situation of: native international locations, native companions and Hon Hai (Foxconn).
New tasks apart, Foxconn has been equally dedicated to increasing its manufacturing capability in India and is trying so as to add two further buildings at its manufacturing website close to Chennai.
Analysts stated there are two key elements fuelling Foxconn’s development in India: Apple’s plans to diversify its provide chain operations and in flip pushing its prime contract producers to quickly scale in different geographies, and India’s ambitions to be aatmanirbhar in semiconductors, the chip that powers most issues digital on the planet.
They’re of the view that Foxconn’s feverish capability enlargement plans are being pushed by the huge exports that Apple has seen out of India. Ashweej Aithal, market analysis analyst at Canalys, stated Foxconn all the time had a really long-term plan for India however was cautious to start with. It’s extra aggressive now.
“That is primarily being pushed by the huge exports that Apple has seen out of India. Exports for Apple elevated drastically in March the place practically 2.5 million iPhones had been exported of which 1.3 million had been to the US alone. That may be a file quantity. And native demand too is there for the premium phase and we count on it to be extra,” Aithal stated.
In accordance with Shah of Counterpoint Analysis, Apple would need 20-25% of the worldwide manufacturing of iPhones to occur in India within the subsequent 3-4 years. On the finish of 2022, this quantity stood at 6%.
“Apple has been pushing companions like Foxconn to develop and lots of the companions too have been longing for extra manufacturing in India to utilize the PLI (production-linked incentive) that India is providing,” he stated.
In its annual report, Foxconn acknowledged that when it got here to smartphones, the US and Europe had been already mature markets, and the expansion of native cellphone shipments had slowed. It stated that the expansion momentum of the smartphone market sooner or later would come from rising areas, akin to China and India.
“India is a fast-growing area. Because the native smartphone adoption charge remains to be low; as native telecom corporations proceed to extend community protection outdoors of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, the area will appeal to main smartphone producers to actively make investments. It is among the fundamental driving forces (that may) present development for world smartphone shipments sooner or later,” it stated.
{Hardware}, design
The Digital Merchandise Innovation Consortium (EPIC) Basis’s co-chair and founding father of HCL Arjun Malhotra stated Foxconn’s India manufacturing push may put the nation again on the {hardware} map. India has been extra centered in current occasions in direction of IT companies, which he termed a “low hanging fruit”.
“What Foxconn will get is excessive quantity manufacturing,” he defined. “That’s actually mandatory and it is good to see it coming to India as a result of we have not actually been a giant a part of the worldwide provide chain in too many issues. Plus, from an Indian perspective, when you get quantity manufacturing in India, the part producers will get motivated to take a position and arrange part manufacturing in India as a result of we have got a big home market.”
Nevertheless, the president of the VLSI Society of India and co-founder of the EPIC Basis, Satya Gupta, stated whereas manufacturing functionality is essential, design is a key issue that India has but to crack.
Apple’s dependence on China isn’t just due to manufacturing, however as a result of China contributes very considerably in direction of the product design of the iPhone as properly, he stated. “Manufacturing alone will not be a sticky enterprise as a result of someone can go wherever the incentives, manpower and markets can be found. When you anchor the manufacturing round product design, you then create a extra sustainable and sticky enterprise. I believe that product design dependency is extra essential for Apple to principally be in China than simply pure manufacturing.”
Gupta stated India has loads of engineering expertise, however will not be doing product design utilizing that expertise. To be able to create a sustainable electronics manufacturing ecosystem, product design along with manufacturing is a vital facet that ought to be given correct consideration and incentives, he stated.
Expertise, Cencerns
Whereas there have been no doubts raised about Foxconn’s technical prowess in relation to electronics manufacturing, a number of questions have been requested of its semiconductor plans, particularly over availability of know-how.
Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductors Ltd, a three way partnership between Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta and Foxconn, lately entered into agreements with two different corporations to conduct analysis on 28- and 40-nanometer chips, CEO of the JV David Reed advised a publication early this month.
He stated one of many corporations is Belgium-based analysis and innovation hub, Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), for analysis on 28-nm chips, which requires work to make it excessive quantity manufacturing. The second is for 40-nm, full-fledged manufacturing of high-volume chips utilized in each automotive and non-automotive industries. He didn’t disclose the title of the second agency.
“Foxconn doesn’t have expertise working silicon semiconductor fabs, particularly 300mm fabs,” semiconductor trade veteran Arun Mampazhy stated. “They do not have the know-how. First, they tried if IMEC know-how would suffice however that’s not manufacturing grade. Now they declare to have a 40nm production-grade licence probably from ST Microelectronics, however are quoting the value of a 28nm and even greater than what a 28nm venture would value. That does not appear convincing to me even now. They appear to be attempting to get the utmost out of the federal government even once they do not deserve that a lot.”
There are additionally different considerations that plague Foxconn’s plans in India. The corporate has come underneath hearth a number of occasions for its allegedly poor working circumstances in locations like China the place it runs giant operations. In India, too, the Foxconn plant has run into issues. In December 2021, Apple positioned the plant in Chennai on probation after a meals poisoning incident led to protests on the plant and its momentary closure.
Jenny Chan, who co-authored a guide ‘Dying for an iPhone’, which narrated the working circumstances within the ultra-secretive Foxconn amenities in China, stated she discovered it “regarding” the best way Foxconn was going about attempting to tweak labour regulation clauses in India. Chan was a part of a workforce that went undercover to report what they claimed was the story behind the suicides, extreme time beyond regulation, hostility and violence on Foxconn’s manufacturing unit flooring in China.
Apple and its companion Foxconn had been reportedly concerned in lobbying for a major liberalisation of labour legal guidelines in Karnataka. This meant modifications that enable for 12-hour shifts and night-time work for ladies, which is analogous to the businesses’ practices in China.
Apple and Foxconn had not commented on the experiences.
“I do perceive why the Indian authorities and lots of different native state officers want to appeal to Foxconn and different buyers to construct new factories,” Chan advised ET. “However I’m very involved as a result of I already can inform that they might be asking for a compromise when it comes to the Indian labour regulation and that’s already very worrying to me that there appears to be extra flexibility when it comes to how one can lengthen the working hours to only meet the manufacturing purpose.”
No matter these points, Foxconn is right here to remain. Sana Hashmi, who’s a Postdoctoral Fellow at Taiwan-Asia Trade Basis stated that Foxconn has been working in India for fairly someday and is extra accustomed to the workings of the Indian market, compared to different Taiwanese corporations.
“Whereas different corporations are leaving or nonetheless apprehensive, Foxconn is benefiting from the vacuum left by different Taiwanese corporations,” she defined. “Taiwanese corporations together with Wistron depend on middlemen. Lack of familiarity with how the Indian enterprise atmosphere and forms capabilities is an element that Foxconn has been capable of navigate so I’m optimistic relating to Foxconn’s long run operations in India.”
Their outcomes too are proof of their resilience. Regardless of the macroeconomic challenges in 2022, Foxconn was capable of ship file excessive income and one of the best earnings per share efficiency in 15 years. Its annual consolidated income reached about $216 billion, and it comes as no shock that India is leaving no stone unturned to woo Foxconn. Nevertheless, analysts say India ought to make sure that its individuals do not undergo of their factories.
