A senior bureaucrat who was part of his state’s delegation that met Liu said, “it was an opportunity to understand Foxconn’s priorities on its India manufacturing agenda, and their work plan.” Noting that the Taiwanese major is “looking at a basket of products; EVs is one among them, advanced communication equipment is another, and there are several more,” he told ET.
“They (Foxconn) also have a short list of states. I don’t think they will implement all these projects in one state,” he added. Tamil Nadu, where Foxconn currently operates manufacturing units for Apple iPhones and other brands like Xiaomi, has suggested the Taiwanese major take over a 350-acre factory due to be shuttered by American car maker Ford, sources said.
It has also offered an alternative site at an EV park it is developing in Manallur as well as in Hosur along the border with Karnataka, they added.
While it is not immediately clear if Foxconn has evaluated the Ford factory, the American carmaker in a statement to ET denied “having a meeting with Foxconn and would refrain from commenting on rumour any further.” Foxconn did not respond to queries by ET.
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People present during Liu’s meeting with Indian state ministers and bureaucrats said the stream of officials arriving in Delhi “one after the other to talk to an investor (Foxconn), did not happen even when Tesla was looking to enter India.”
While Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka had officials visit Liu on the first day of his India visit, while Tamil Nadu and Gujarat arrived in Delhi the next day.
A person aware of the developments is of the view that Foxconn’s India push is likely to see investments in more than one destination, and across products. For example, Telangana has strongly advocated for manufacturing of wearable devices, besides other products as part of a strong pitch from industries minister KT Rama Rao on Thursday.
Pointing out that political stability is of utmost importance to Foxconn, the person said that the “on that front, a few states could fall behind in the race.”
“Karnataka and Maharashtra did have a problem with respect to (political) stability, Telangana seems to be a promising state from that perspective,” the source cited above added. “Gujarat is top priority for Foxconn.
They are investing in multiple things like wearables, electric vehicles and so on for which they are looking for land parcels. All of this will be diversified across more than one state.”
