Foxconn exploring EV manufacturing hub in India: CEO Young Liu

Apple supplier Foxconn chairman & CEO Young Liu has said that it is considering to launch an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing facility in India, with Tamil Nadu as a potential location for the plant. 

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Liu said that Foxconn will have an EV factory in India very soon and added that the company has plans to build EV factories in Ohio and Thailand. Liu recently met PM Narendra Modi in Gujarat at Semicon India 2023.

He added that India is poised to emerge as the 'new manufacturing centre in the world', with the supplier ecosystem likely to develop faster than the time it took to come up in China.

Liu added that if there are not many changes in India, the country will "become a new manufacturing centre" for the world.

He further added that the supply chain ecosystem, which took over 30 years to build in China, is likely to come up faster in India, especially as there are huge opportunities for the local electronics industry.

“The supply chain ecosystem that took more than 30 years to build in China will take time to transfer to India, but fortunately, we already have experience in this area, and it is expected that the time will be relatively shorter. There are huge opportunities for the local electronics industry to develop,” Liu said on Wednesday. 

Foxconn has been operating in India since 2005, and Liu has stressed on the growing proximity between India and Taiwan.  On July 28, Liu, while speaking at the Semicon India conclave in Gandhinagar, said: “Taiwan is and will be your (India’s) most trusted and reliable partner.”

As per Foxconn company data, India now accounts for $10 billion of Foxconn’s annual revenue, which is 4.6 per cent of the company’s $216 billion revenue in 2022 and more than double the 2 per cent registered in 2021.

In July, Liu reported signed a series of agreements with the governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Foxconn Interconnect Technology laid the foundation for a new electronics manufacturing facility in Telangana in May, as part of its investment plans in the region. The proposed electronics manufacturing facility, located near Kongara Kalan, is set to serve as a hub for the company's activity in Telangana.

On July 31, Foxconn signed an MoU with Guidance Tamil Nadu to establish a manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for electronic components, with a proposed investment of Rs 1,600 crore. In Karnataka, Foxconn said it would invest $600 million in two manufacturing projects.

Last month, FIT Hon Teng's (Foxconn) board approved a $400-million investment in Telangana, Foxconn India representative V Lee said in a LinkedIn post. This is in addition to an earlier commitment of $150 million Foxconn had made in the state.

"FIT Singapore intends to inject a capital sum of $400,000,000 into Chang Yi Interconnect Technology (India) Pvt Ltd, in which FIT Singapore holds 99.99% of the capital stock," FIT Hon Teng said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on August 31, which was posted by Lee on LinkedIn.

In August, Foxconn reportedly started the production of the upcoming iPhone 15 at the Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu ahead of its launch this month. The company is all set to deliver the newest devices only weeks after they start shipping from factories in China. 

Also read: India will become new manufacturing centre in the world: Foxconn Chairman Young Liu

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