Apple’s AirPods to Be Made in India by Foxconn; Manufacturer Sees Chance to Invest 'Several Billion Dollars'

iPhone maker Apple will start manufacturing its wireless earphones AirPods at Foxconn's Hyderabad factory, according to sources.

Foxconn has approved an investment of $400 million (roughly Rs. 3,325 crore) for the Hyderabad plant which is expected to begin mass production by December 2024.

"Foxconn Hyderabad factory will make AirPods. The factory is expected to begin mass production by December," a source told PTI.

The information was confirmed by one more source who is privy to the development.

An email query sent to Apple and Foxconn did not elicit any reply.

AirPods will be the second product category after iPhone that will be made in India.

Apple's AirPods leads TWS (true wireless stereo) earphones market globally.

It led the global TWS market with about 36 percent market share in the December 2022 quarter, according to research firm Canalys.

Apple was followed by Samsung with a 7.5 percent market share, Xiaomi with 4.4 percent, Boat with 4 percent, and Oppo with 3 percent.

Xiaomi started making its TWS in India this year at the Optiemus Electronics plant in Noida.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant sees the potential of investing several billions of dollars in India if it gets to completely implement its plan, a top official of the company said.

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) Chairman and CEO Young Liu during the company's second-quarter earnings call on Friday said that the company's Indian arm has achieved a turnover of close to $10 billion (roughly Rs. 83,129 crores) on an annual basis and there is a lot of investment potential in India.

"Foxconn annual revenue was $200 billion (roughly Rs. 16,62,754 crore). From the perspective of India's potential market size and if we can fully implement our plans there, several billion dollars in investment is only the beginning." He said Foxconn operates about nine campuses in India.

"Total size will be equivalent to more than 500 football fields. We have over 30 factories in India. The turnover, and business size, are roughly $10 billion (roughly Rs. 83,129 crores) annually. We have over 20 dormitories that shelter tens and thousands of employees that work with Foxconn in India," Liu said.

He said questions around India have been coming up during investors' calls since the last two quarters, which indicates there is positive energy in the country. "I have said before that our capex this year will grow from last year. That outlook has not changed," Liu said.

During the presentation, Liu pointed out that since Foxconn entered India, its revenue, number of employees, and investment scale have grown exponentially.

Liu said that at present, Foxconn is mainly engaged in the information and communication technology assembly business, and going forward, Foxconn will actively deploy work in the area of key components to raise its competitiveness in India.

In addition to existing operations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Foxconn will also deploy in Karnataka, Telangana, and other states.

Through close cooperation with central and local governments, Foxconn will plan to establish industrial parks and optimize the business environment in terms of infrastructure, policies, and laws, Foxconn said during the earnings presentation.