Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn is looking at making electric vehicles in India, part of a larger diversification plan to expand its Asian manufacturing supply chain beyond China, according to people aware of developments at the contract phone maker for Apple.
Foxtron—the company’s EV venture—may consider manufacturing in India in addition to other locations in South East Asia such as Vietnam and Indonesia, they said.
At present, in addition to an exclusive facility — outside Chennai — manufacturing Apple’s phones, Bharat FIH, formerly known as Rising Stars Mobile India, a Foxconn Technology Group Company operates another unit nearby, which manufactures phones for Chinese brands including Xiaomi.
"Foxconn has evinced interest as a group in manufacturing other lines — their own (and) for their clients — apart from the phones that they currently manufacture," a person in the know who did not wish to be named told ET.
Sources aware of the matter said that the Tamil Nadu government is looking to woo the conglomerate to further invest in the state. "They have expressed an interest in EV manufacturing, so we have told them that Tamil Nadu is the place to be," the person added.
Foxconn did not respond to ET's emails seeking comment.
Electric vehicles are a relatively new segment for Foxconn. Last year, it bought a factory in the US to produce electric vehicles for the North American market and will also use the plant to contract-manufacture for customers like hybrid EV brand Fisker. In future, Foxconn will look to replicate this localisation model elsewhere in other markets such as South-East Asia, the company said in its annual report for 2021.
A second official who spoke to ET on condition of anonymity said the Taiwanese major is also eyeing the potential demand for EVs in the Indian market.
"Initially there was no plan to manufacture in India but recently Foxconn has been studying the Indian automotive market and is considering foraying into India as well as Vietnam and Indonesia to expand its manufacturing base to other markets," said one person cited above.
According to a release from Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), sales of passenger electric cars in the country jumped over 2.5 times to 17,804 units in FY22, underscoring strong demand for green variants.
Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/taiwanese-electronics-giant-foxconn-looks-at-manufacturing-evs-in-india/articleshow/92369882.cms
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