India’s mobile phone exports surged 35% to a record $15 billion in FY24 from $11.1 billion in FY23, according to government data.
Smartphone production for local consumption was up 8% year-on-year in the January to February period, with over 30 million units produced during the period, said Singh. He added that with exports combined, smartphone production jumped to 10-12% in the same period, driven by heavy exports from Apple.
Smartphone manufacturers led by DBG, Dixon Technologies, Hon Hai (Foxconn), and Samsung scaled up production in the first two months of the year, as inventory bottlenecks in the market improved and brands launched more new models as compared to last year hoping to tap into a demand revival, market trackers said. Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung were among brands that contracted the most volumes during the period, according to Counterpoint.
Canalys observed sharp growth in shipments for Xiaomi which contracts manufacturers such as DBG, BYD, and Dixon for mobile phones, while Motorola and Apple also saw double-digit growth, fuelling production volumes for Dixon and Hon Hai (Foxconn), respectively.
Counterpoint added that production is also expected to have increased in March as well, as manufacturers tend to produce more stocks near the closing of the financial year to meet their fiscal targets.”Although the local demand remains modest, the push from the PLI (production linked incentives) approved companies to complete and exceed their PLI targets is driving this trend. Players like Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron, Samsung and Dixon are driving this push in local manufacturing, with a focus on export-led manufacturing,” Singh said.