After iPhones, Apple is now set to manufacture AirPods in India. Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), the Indian subsidiary of Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn, is rapidly expanding its production and hiring at its Hyderabad facility to manufacture the AirPods earbuds in India, all in a bid to help Apple meet soaring global demand for AirPods.
The manufacturing expansion in India is Foxconn’s strategic push to diversify its supply chain away from China and navigate around the geopolitical situation affecting the supply chain. It also helps to ensure India’s role in Apple’s global manufacturing network.
The Kongara Kalan plant, located near Hyderabad airport, already began commercial production of AirPods in April 2025. With the new mandate, the facility plans to double its output to 200,000 units per month, up from its current estimated production of over 100,000 units, over the next six to eight months.
Foxconn expanding local production of AirPods
To make the expansion easy, the FIT is upgrading five existing production lines and is introducing one or two brand-new lines. Much of the necessary machinery for this ramp-up is being transferred from Foxconn’s existing facilities in Vietnam. The expansion will also result in a substantial boost to local employment. The factory currently employs around 2,000 staff, a number that is projected to rise to 5,000 employees within the next eight months.
The total investment committed to the Hyderabad plant will reach Rs 4,800 crore, with over Rs 3,000 crore already deployed. This capital expenditure covers the transferred machinery, as well as new equipment required to produce the latest Apple models, including the AirPods 4, launched in September 2024, and the AirPods Pro 3, introduced this year.
The Hyderabad facility is part of a larger $550 million project announced by Foxconn in May 2023 under Chang Yi Interconnect Technology (India) Pvt. Ltd., aimed at creating 24,000 jobs. The project focuses on manufacturing accessories for both the global and domestic markets, including AirPods, cables, and connectors.
Although the production of AirPods faced initial hurdles earlier this year due to a shortage of the rare earth metal dysprosium – caused by China’s temporary export restrictions – the bottleneck has reportedly been eased. This allows FIT to maintain a steady manufacturing pace and accelerate its expansion plans.
The sustained growth of Apple’s manufacturing footprint in India is further evidenced by a 75 per cent surge in iPhone exports in the first half of the current fiscal year, highlighting India’s increasing importance to Apple’s global expansion plans. Apple now manufactures the entire iPhone 17 series lineup in India, exporting most of the local produce to the US market.
