PM Narendra Modi meets Foxconn Chairman

27 June 2022: As per news reports, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi interacted with Young Liu, the Chairman, Foxconn. In a tweet, the Prime Minister of India said “Glad to meet Mr. Young Liu, Chairman, Foxconn. I welcome their plans for expanding electronics manufacturing capacity in India, including in semiconductors. Our push for EV manufacturing is in line with our commitment of Net Zero Emission.”

As per media reports, the Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturing major is considering to set up an EV manufacturing unit in India through its subsidiary Foxtron. The Hon Hai Technology Group Chairman had met with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi to discuss the company’s future in India. The visit comes at a time when the Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturing major plans to expand its electronics manufacturing capacity in India, including in semiconductors and electric vehicles (EVs).

It is said that the Tamilnadu government is looking to woo the company to further invest in the state and set up the EV manufacturing unit, according to media reports. The company also manufactures iPhones for Apple exclusively in a facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Apart from this, Foxconn’s Indian entity, Bharat FIH, operates a separate facility that makes Xiaomi phones.

Foxconn has recently entered the electric vehicles market. Earlier this year, the company purchased a plant in the US to produce EVs for the North American market. In its annual report in 2021, the company said that they would replicate this localisation model in South-Asia. The report also stated that a tough year didn’t stop Foxconn’s consolidated revenue from increasing by 12 percent to $203.7 billion.

The developments come at a time when Indian policymakers are trying to create an environment conducive for EV makers, as the country tries to gradually cut down on costly fuel imports and switch to vehicles that run on green energy and reduce pollution.