New Delhi: As China and Vietnam falter amid India’s push for domestic manufacturing owing to the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, tech giant Apple saw a robust around $8 billion sales in the country in the last fiscal (FY24) – a nearly 33 per cent rise (year-on-year).
According to sources, most of the growth was driven by iPhones amid the premiumisation trend that has solidified in the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
Not just robust domestic sales, the Cupertino-based company has also broken export records and according to industry estimates, iPhone shipments are projected to increase by over 20 per cent this year on the back of domestic manufacturing support and strong distribution.
“Premiumisation has started and Apple has once again got the timing right to benefit from this trend through its devices and financing offers. Additionally, the brand continues to enjoy the strong brand pull and lately expanding its channel presence in the country which helped it to grow,” Tarun Pathak, Research Director at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.
In a major boost to India’s PLI scheme, mobile phone exports from the country gained much ground in FY24 as manufacturing giants like China and Vietnam fell behind.
Mobile phone exports from China went down from $136.3 billion in FY23 to $132.5 billion in FY24. Similarly, Vietnam saw a drop from $31.9 billion in FY23 to $26.27 billion in the last fiscal year, according to the latest industry data.
In India, mobile phone exports, led by Apple, from the country touched nearly $16 billion in FY24 from $11 billion in FY23.
As per industry estimates, mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4.10 lakh crore in FY24, registering an increase of 2,000 per cent.
According to Counterpoint Research, the majority of consumers in India in the premium segment chose a financial scheme to buy a smartphone.
“Subtle design changes and long software support from Apple means older generation devices remain relevant for a longer period and help consumers owning an Apple device at a lower cost and, at the same time, help Apple in capturing share across a wider price segment,” said Pathak.
Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR) told IANS that in a market dominated majorly by value-for-money phones, there is good healthy growth for premium smartphones driven by rising disposable incomes among a growing middle class.
“Apple’s growth momentum is driven by its strong brand salience, increased manufacturing and retail focus in the market. With rising tensions between the US and China, India offers Apple a strategic hedge to diversify its manufacturing and revenue streams,” he noted.
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