Apple's Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn has begun assembling iPhone 11s in Chennai, southern India, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

This move to the Asian subcontinent is part of a bid by the U.S. tech giant to diversify production beyond China.

The iPhone 11 models assembled in India are being sold in retail stores in the country, with prices starting around 63,800 rupees (S$1,160).

This is currently the latest model on the market.

Apple is expected to eventually lower prices closer to the level at which most Indians buy.

Making phones in India saves it import duties of 20 per cent.

This cost savings effectively increases iPhone's competitiveness as Indians typically go for South Korean Samsung Electronics and Chinese smartphone brands OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

The iPhone 11 was first launched in September 2019.

Assembling new models

Besides the iPhone 11, the Foxconn unit in Chennai also assembles the iPhone XR.

The iPhone 7 is assembled in Bangalore by Wistron, Apple's other key supplier.

Apple began assembling older models of iPhones in India at Wistron's local unit in 2017.

Apple discontinued local assembly of the older models iPhone SE and iPhone 6s in 2019.

Could be exported but not yet

An estimated 29 per cent of Apple's smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2020 in India were from domestic manufacturing facilities, while the second quarter figure is 17 per cent.

The exact number of iPhones assembled in India is not known.

"The India-assembled iPhone 11 is also being considered for export, in line with the already existing mobile phone models," an anonymous source told the Nikkei Asian Review.

Diversification in progress

Apple is planning to shift 20 per cent of production volumes to India.

Its manufacturing facilities in India currently include Foxconn's Chennai plant and Wistron's two sites in Bangalore.

Singapore's Flex and Finland's Salcomp provide chargers for the handsets.

The U.S.-China trade war has prompted Apple to spread out its supply chain that is currently heavily concentrated in China.

Top photo via