Tata Electronics and Pegatron to expand iPhone units in Tamil Nadu

While Tata Electronics will invest 12,082 crore to expand its enclosure manufacturing unit and mobile assembly plant in Hosur, Pegatron will invest Rs 1,000 crore in computing, communications, and consumer electronics.

Chennai: Key Apple suppliers, home-grown Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Pegatron, on Sunday pledged significant investments to expand their iPhone assembly units in Hosur and Singaperumalkovil near here.

While Tata Electronics will invest 12,082 crore to expand its enclosure manufacturing unit and mobile assembly plant in Hosur creating 40,500 jobs, Pegatron will invest Rs 1,000 crore in computing, communications, and consumer electronics making available 8,000 jobs.

The two companies signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday at the third edition of the Global Investors’ Meet here.

Tata Electronics, which began operations at the Hosur unit in 2021, currently makes enclosures for mobile phones of various brands. The fresh investment of Rs 12,082 crore will go into expanding the enclosure making unit and set up a new plant to assemble mobile phones, including that of Apple Inc.

The investment amount pledged by Tatas also includes for a project to build housing units for employees of the unit. DH had in its January 6 edition reported that Tata Electronics will invest over Rs 7,000 crore in its Hosur unit creating over 30,000 jobs.

Pegatron, which assembles iPhones at its Singaperumalkovil, will invest Rs 1,000 crore, taking its total investment in the plant that became operational in 2022 to Rs 2,200 crore.

DH had in its July 25, 2022, edition reported that Pegatron was mulling expanding its unit following a meeting between Pegatron Chairperson T H Tung and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.

The move by Tatas and Pegatron will be a shot in the arm for Tamil Nadu, which in 2022-2023 fiscal emerged as the no. 1 state in electronics exports in the country at $5.37 billion, piping Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The state’s electronics exports for the first six months of 2023-2024 fiscal stood at USD 4.8 billion, more than 2x of Uttar Pradesh ($2.5 billion).

The development comes amid India becoming an integral part of Apple’s ecosystem with its smartphone exports from the country touching 7 per cent in 2023 from a mere 1 per cent in 2020.

Apple's exports from India surged to Rs 20,000 crore in April and May 2023 as against Rs 9,066 crore during the same period last year. For the first time, Apple began assembling its flagship iPhones through its contract manufacturers in 2023 around the same time they were manufactured in China, its largest production hub.