Apple Inc’s suppliers are in talks to produce Apple Watch and MacBook in Vietnam for the first time, Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Apple’s Chinese supplier Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) and Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), have started test production of Apple Watch in northern Vietnam, it said.
Apple has asked suppliers to set up a test production line in Vietnam for the MacBook, the report said, adding that progress in moving mass production to the country has been slow partly due to COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions, but also because notebook computer production involves a larger supply chain.
Photo: Bloomberg
Apple has been shifting some areas of iPhone production from China to other markets, including India, where it started manufacturing the iPhone 13 earlier this year and is also planning to assemble iPad tablets.
India, the world’s second-biggest smartphone market, along with countries such as Mexico and Vietnam, is becoming increasingly important to contract manufacturers supplying US brands, as they try to diversify production away from China.
Apple, Hon Hai and Luxshare Precision did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Hon Hai gave a cautious outlook for this quarter after posting results that exceeded expectations, citing slowing smartphone demand after a pandemic-fueled boom.
Like other global manufacturers, Hon Hai has dealt with a severe shortage of chips that hurt production, as bottlenecks from the pandemic lingered and the Ukraine war further strained logistics channels.
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